The contest for the tall forests of South-Western Australia and the discourses of advocates

Grant Wardell-Johnson, Angela Wardell-Johnson, Beth Schultz, Joe Dortch, Todd Robinson, Len Collard, Michael Calver

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article

Abstract

After over 50000 years of interaction between Aboriginal people and changing climates, south-western Australia’s tall forests were first logged less than 200 years ago, initiating persistent conflict. Recent conservation advocacy has resulted in the protection of 49% of these tall forests in statutory reserves, providing an opportunity to implement and benefit from a growing moral consensus on the valuing of these globally significant, tall forest ecosystems. We analysed a cross-section of literature (63 papers, 118 statements) published on these forests over 187 years to identify values framing advocacy. We differentiated four resource-oriented discourses and three discourses giving primacy to social and environmental values over seven eras. Invasion sparked initial uncontrolled exploitation, with the Forests Act 1918 managing competing agricultural and timber advocacy. Following the Colonial and Country Life eras, industrial-scale exploitation of the karri forest region resulted in reaction by increasingly broad sectors of society. Warming and drying in the 21st Century emphasises the importance of intact tall forest and the Indigenous Renaissance discourse. Vesting for a more comprehensive set of values would acknowledge a new moral consensus.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)50-71
Number of pages22
JournalPacific Conservation Biology
Volume25
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019

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advocacy
environmental values
indigenous population
twenty first century
forest ecosystem
timber
warming
cross section
climate
resource

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Wardell-Johnson, Grant ; Wardell-Johnson, Angela ; Schultz, Beth ; Dortch, Joe ; Robinson, Todd ; Collard, Len ; Calver, Michael. / The contest for the tall forests of South-Western Australia and the discourses of advocates. In: Pacific Conservation Biology. 2019 ; Vol. 25, No. 1. pp. 50-71.
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abstract = "After over 50000 years of interaction between Aboriginal people and changing climates, south-western Australia’s tall forests were first logged less than 200 years ago, initiating persistent conflict. Recent conservation advocacy has resulted in the protection of 49{\%} of these tall forests in statutory reserves, providing an opportunity to implement and benefit from a growing moral consensus on the valuing of these globally significant, tall forest ecosystems. We analysed a cross-section of literature (63 papers, 118 statements) published on these forests over 187 years to identify values framing advocacy. We differentiated four resource-oriented discourses and three discourses giving primacy to social and environmental values over seven eras. Invasion sparked initial uncontrolled exploitation, with the Forests Act 1918 managing competing agricultural and timber advocacy. Following the Colonial and Country Life eras, industrial-scale exploitation of the karri forest region resulted in reaction by increasingly broad sectors of society. Warming and drying in the 21st Century emphasises the importance of intact tall forest and the Indigenous Renaissance discourse. Vesting for a more comprehensive set of values would acknowledge a new moral consensus.",
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Wardell-Johnson, G, Wardell-Johnson, A, Schultz, B, Dortch, J, Robinson, T, Collard, L & Calver, M 2019, 'The contest for the tall forests of South-Western Australia and the discourses of advocates' Pacific Conservation Biology, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 50-71. https://doi.org/10.1071/PC18058

The contest for the tall forests of South-Western Australia and the discourses of advocates. / Wardell-Johnson, Grant; Wardell-Johnson, Angela; Schultz, Beth; Dortch, Joe; Robinson, Todd; Collard, Len; Calver, Michael.

In: Pacific Conservation Biology, Vol. 25, No. 1, 2019, p. 50-71.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article

TY - JOUR

T1 - The contest for the tall forests of South-Western Australia and the discourses of advocates

AU - Wardell-Johnson, Grant

AU - Wardell-Johnson, Angela

AU - Schultz, Beth

AU - Dortch, Joe

AU - Robinson, Todd

AU - Collard, Len

AU - Calver, Michael

PY - 2019

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N2 - After over 50000 years of interaction between Aboriginal people and changing climates, south-western Australia’s tall forests were first logged less than 200 years ago, initiating persistent conflict. Recent conservation advocacy has resulted in the protection of 49% of these tall forests in statutory reserves, providing an opportunity to implement and benefit from a growing moral consensus on the valuing of these globally significant, tall forest ecosystems. We analysed a cross-section of literature (63 papers, 118 statements) published on these forests over 187 years to identify values framing advocacy. We differentiated four resource-oriented discourses and three discourses giving primacy to social and environmental values over seven eras. Invasion sparked initial uncontrolled exploitation, with the Forests Act 1918 managing competing agricultural and timber advocacy. Following the Colonial and Country Life eras, industrial-scale exploitation of the karri forest region resulted in reaction by increasingly broad sectors of society. Warming and drying in the 21st Century emphasises the importance of intact tall forest and the Indigenous Renaissance discourse. Vesting for a more comprehensive set of values would acknowledge a new moral consensus.

AB - After over 50000 years of interaction between Aboriginal people and changing climates, south-western Australia’s tall forests were first logged less than 200 years ago, initiating persistent conflict. Recent conservation advocacy has resulted in the protection of 49% of these tall forests in statutory reserves, providing an opportunity to implement and benefit from a growing moral consensus on the valuing of these globally significant, tall forest ecosystems. We analysed a cross-section of literature (63 papers, 118 statements) published on these forests over 187 years to identify values framing advocacy. We differentiated four resource-oriented discourses and three discourses giving primacy to social and environmental values over seven eras. Invasion sparked initial uncontrolled exploitation, with the Forests Act 1918 managing competing agricultural and timber advocacy. Following the Colonial and Country Life eras, industrial-scale exploitation of the karri forest region resulted in reaction by increasingly broad sectors of society. Warming and drying in the 21st Century emphasises the importance of intact tall forest and the Indigenous Renaissance discourse. Vesting for a more comprehensive set of values would acknowledge a new moral consensus.

KW - conservation policy

KW - culture

KW - environmental management

KW - environmental sustainability

KW - forestry

KW - human impact

KW - natural resource management

KW - world heritage area

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U2 - 10.1071/PC18058

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JO - Pacific Conservation Biology

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Wardell-Johnson G, Wardell-Johnson A, Schultz B, Dortch J, Robinson T, Collard L et al. The contest for the tall forests of South-Western Australia and the discourses of advocates. Pacific Conservation Biology. 2019;25(1):50-71. https://doi.org/10.1071/PC18058

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