Category: conservation
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Land clearing on the rise as legal ‘thinning’ proves far from clear-cut
April Reside, The University of Queensland; Anita J Cosgrove, The University of Queensland; Jennifer Lesley Silcock, The University of Queensland; Leonie Seabrook, The University of Queensland, and Megan C Evans, The University of Queensland Land clearing is accelerating across eastern Australia, despite our new research providing a clear warning of its impacts on the Great…
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Queensland moves to control land clearing: other states need to follow
This article was originally published in The Conversation, and features my new paper published in Pacific Conservation Biology Queensland’s land clearing has yet again become a national issue. After laws were relaxed under the Liberal-National State government in 2013, land clearing rates tripled, undermining efforts to conserve wildlife and reduce carbon emissions. Now the current…
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SCB-Oceania Member Spotlight
The Society for Conservation – Oceania section is currently on the lookout for two new members to join the board (apply before 29th April!) . I’ve been a member of the SCB Oceania board for just over a year, and was this week in the ‘member spotlight‘ – which is a regular section of our newsletter where we highlight the work…
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Seeking evidence to inform the biodiversity offsets policy debate
This is Part 1 of a series of posts outlining the research journey of my PhD so far. When I first embarked on my PhD research, my main interest was in trying to learn about what outcomes had been delivered by biodiversity offsetting policies. There were a few reasons for this. First, I knew that biodiversity offsetting was…
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Gina vs. the reef? A plea for informed debate on biodiversity offsets
I never thought I’d be in a situation where I felt the need to defend Gina Rinehart. I’m pro-mining tax, love the Great Barrier Reef, pro-divestment and pro-safe climate. But, I want an informed debate on these issues – and in the case of the proposed Abbot Point coal terminal development, we need to have a decent understanding of the environmental policies which…
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Findings tabled from the Senate Inquiry into Environmental Offsets
A report into the recent Senate inquiry into environmental offsets has now been tabled – you can download the full report here. The inquiry was set up earlier in the year by the Australian Greens with the support of the Labor Party, and generated a fair bit of media at the time (here, here and here). I’m…
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Does “irreplaceability” tell us where to prioritise protected area management?
I was asked by The Conversation to provide some comments on an new paper published by Soizic Le Saout and colleagues this week in Science. You can read my comments and those of a number of other scientists in the article. But I thought I’d share some more thoughts on the paper here. Update 18/11/13: Added…
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15th BIOECON: Week One of UK trip
The 15th BIOECON in Cambridge has begun – and so begins my 3 week visit to the UK. The conference is being held at King’s College, a truly dreadful venue with historic architecture, manicured lawns, ambient atmosphere and delicious food. Horrible. Tomorrow I’ll be giving my presentation, which I’ve blogged about previously, but you can view…
Megan C. Evans 