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Environment
Articles
The
FATE of Science
Leanna Cheung
FATE – Future of Australia’s Threatened Ecosystems is an Australian Museum initiative that aims to investigate the commercialisation of Australia’s native flora and fauna as a means of conserving them for the future. The FATE program involves a series of experiments spread throughout vast areas in the NSW Rangelands and across various bio-diverse environments. The program addresses such questions as:
- What is the potential for landholders to gain commercial return from native vegetation on their properties?
- Can the commercial use of native species help achieve conservation and production outcomes from the same area of land?
Due to its size and extent, the FATE program will require extra funding and support from the government and from the public. FATE’s Senior Project Officer, Peter Ampt, is in charge of raising much needed funds for the program, “Australian agriculture is based on introduced species. It is time we seriously explored the potential of our native species, which are superbly adapted to our difficult environment, to provide unique and marketable products.” Peter has always held a personal interest in agriculture, studying the subject at university launching a career in education and research. His research and passionate interest in the topic brought him back to the land to find new means of sustainable farming and agriculture.
In the search for ways to show farmers the reality of using native species, the FATE program plans to utilise demonstration sites as evidence of a potential industry. “Demonstration sites will be monitored to study the effects of the new system on the biodiversity, landscape and functioning of the area. There will be many sites across different locations. With the support of locals, we can teach people how to be a part of sustainable native environments.”
Peter hopes to gain funding from government and non-government organisations, which have expressed interest in being involved with FATE. There are many such organisations and a full list can be seen at the project’s website:
http://www.fate.net.au/index.htm.
In a recent proposal, which Peter presented to the Federal Agricultural Department and National Heritage Trust, Peter was very pleased with the “very positive response” from the organisations. “There was much support for the ideas, and both the National Heritage Trust and Federal Agricultural Department were very keen to move forward.” However, as Peter also explained, there are still difficulties in obtaining funds, “the process is complicated, especially for a multifaceted project such as FATE. Although the response was very good for the long-term running of the program, there seems to be little money at present.” He adds, “Funds are restricted. There are many people competing for the same funds. Lots of time and effort is needed to obtain funds for scientific research, especially in the area of Natural Resource Management.”
The situation is frustrating for Peter. “We keep hearing many rhetorical statements saying ‘Science is important’, but the funding doesn't match.” In his opinion, “The way funding is distributed needs significant change. It is important to keep scientists in Australia with investment in schools and universities. The more people there are with strong scientific literacy, the better it will be for the community.”
The lack of funding in scientific research in Australia is prevalent in many other areas apart from FATE. In 2001, the Australian Venom Research Unit in Victoria was almost forced to “close its doors” following the withdrawal of funding from the Victorian State Government (from the article “Anti-venom Researchers Bitten Hard” – News in Science, 30/04/01). This unit has “developed anti-venoms to treat people bitten by the country’s many poisonous animals, insects and fish.” The withdrawal of funds had the potential to have large implications on the health of the Australian public, with there being much still to learn about the nature of Australia's venomous creatures.
FATE likewise
requires much needed funding for research into techniques of sustainable
resource management. Past and present land use has already caused damage
to our rangelands, with many native species lost or endangered. The degradation
of our rangelands has also caused the erosion of soil and salinity problems.
By learning how to safely manage our disappearing native ecosystems, through
programs such as FATE, we are allowing a better and brighter future. Careful
management will not only allow us to conserve these natural ecosystems,
but it will also allow for greater commercially viable use of our wildlife.
Thus, Australia will have greater economical prosperity as well as a sustainable
and protected wildlife.
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