TY - JOUR
T1 - Navigating the fiery debate
T2 - the role of scientific evidence in eliciting policy and management responses for contentious plants in northern Australia
AU - Setterfield, Samantha A.
AU - Rossiter-Rachor, Natalie A.
AU - Adams, Vanessa M.
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - Australia's vast tropical savannas contain outstanding biodiversity and cultural values. The region supports many industries, with broad-scale pastoralism being the most widespread. Hundreds of plant species were introduced into northern Australia to support the pastoral industry; some species have since been termed 'contentious' or 'conflict' species due to their perceived positive value for industry but negative impacts on non-pastoral values when they invaded non-pastoral landscapes. Heated political and public debate ensued about the appropriate policy and management response to these species based on people's perceptions of values being altered by invasion by these species, and conflicting views on what constituted appropriate management actions to control their use and spread. Here we share our insights into the role of scientific evidence in progressing this debate, by quantifying the impacts of species on environmental, socioeconomic and cultural values. We reflect on the importance of science for underpinning evidence-based risk management tools, the outputs of which supported policy response by politicians and other policy decision-makers. We also assess the gap in translation from policy to coordinated on-ground action at the national scale, and provide our insights into the contribution that science can make to bridging this gap.
AB - Australia's vast tropical savannas contain outstanding biodiversity and cultural values. The region supports many industries, with broad-scale pastoralism being the most widespread. Hundreds of plant species were introduced into northern Australia to support the pastoral industry; some species have since been termed 'contentious' or 'conflict' species due to their perceived positive value for industry but negative impacts on non-pastoral values when they invaded non-pastoral landscapes. Heated political and public debate ensued about the appropriate policy and management response to these species based on people's perceptions of values being altered by invasion by these species, and conflicting views on what constituted appropriate management actions to control their use and spread. Here we share our insights into the role of scientific evidence in progressing this debate, by quantifying the impacts of species on environmental, socioeconomic and cultural values. We reflect on the importance of science for underpinning evidence-based risk management tools, the outputs of which supported policy response by politicians and other policy decision-makers. We also assess the gap in translation from policy to coordinated on-ground action at the national scale, and provide our insights into the contribution that science can make to bridging this gap.
KW - conservation biology
KW - conservation policy
KW - invasive species
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85052488312&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1071/PC18028
DO - 10.1071/PC18028
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85052488312
SN - 1038-2097
VL - 24
SP - 318
EP - 328
JO - Pacific Conservation Biology
JF - Pacific Conservation Biology
IS - 3
ER -