I presented at the conference today on INFFER, sharing an overview of the key emphases and benefits of the framework. I also provided a case study of its application on the ‘Fire sensitive vegetation communities of the Hamersley Ranges’ that I undertook with Rangelands NRM and the Department of Environment and Conservation last year. I chose to do the case study on the Hamersleys in part because of the scenery – Sharon Hann from the department took some fantastic photos in June especially for the presentation and I wasn’t surprised to see several people in the audience taking photos of the photo slides during the presentation! I was really pleased with how the presentation was received and am now in discussions with several people representing different organisations regarding potential trials or pilot applications of INFFER here in Europe and also in the UK. Knowing how much more effective the framework makes investment in asset-based environmental projects, for me, this is very exciting.
The conference so far has been excellent. It’s been interesting and reassuring to see a common emphasis on the maintenance of ecosystem services and the provision of habitat within existing agricultural and urban landscapes through small changes in the way we currently do things. Not so long ago, individual species conservation and techniques for attempting to attain an historical ecological state were the main foci of similar events, so this is a significant change. It’s not always an easy thing for an ecologist to agree that the overall deliverables of an ecosystem are more important than the specific aspects which deliver those outcomes – indeed, in the opinion of many, this approach challenges the very definition of ‘ecological restoration’. But the reality is that the combination of and synergies between impact(s) of climate change and other processes such as fragmentation and exotic species invasion have resulted in great uncertainty in terms of ultimate influences on the natural environment, and in our ability to predict these influences and therefore prepare for and then respond them. As managers of natural areas, we must accept that in many (if not all) cases, the past cannot be recreated and so we must find new ways or facilitate nature to find new ways to re-establish and/or maintain key habitat values and ecosystem services. There were several presentations on projects which are attempting to do just this, one of them, run by the National Trust, is on the Wicken Fen Natural Nature Reserve near Cambridge in England. This innovative and exciting project has no goals or targets – it is all about removing the primary degrading process(es), in this case the landuse, and then allowing nature to take control, while ‘project managers’ simply observe and record. Some actions are required under regulation and must be done but these are the only ‘actions of interference’ that are being undertaken. You can read more about this novel project here.
On a different note entirely, I took the opportunity just before the conference to explore the local area. Avignon and the surrounding department (region) of Provence really is as picturesque in real life as it is depicted to be on websites and in brochures. The first thing that caught my eye on my first walk around the town was the ‘window art’ – windows that aren’t windows but that have been cleverly painted to look as though they are, with people from various periods in history and various occupations hanging out of them, looking dreamily out into the distance or captured in some pose, completely unaware that they are being ‘seen’. The quality of the artwork is fantastic and the humour, emotion and social commentary conveyed is really very clever. You can find them on many of the buildings on and around the main square (the Place de L’horloge); some of my favourites are below.
The narrow cobbled streets, city wall and grand 14th century ‘Palais des Papes’ (Popes Palace) are in very good condition and give a fantastic impression of former times and the factors that influenced life and development. It’s fascinating to see how much of a mark the papacy managed to make on this city in the hundred years they were based here.
Also impressive is the ‘living wall’ on the Les Halles or city market hall. I saw photos of this at the Australian Landscaping Conference in Melbourne in 2007; it’s even better up close and in real life.
The Palais des Papes
Some examples of the 'window art'
The living wall at Les Halles
Well, that’s a wrap. Until next time…
