Friday, 9 October 2009

In this very timely talk, Professor Richard Hobbs will outline the many positive steps being taken to repair the environment in Australia and around the world - efforts amounting to a large counter-current working against negative influences.

UWA's, Professor Hobbs, and Professor Mike Tobar in Physics, were among only 15 Australian Laureate Fellowships awarded in 2009, from a highly competitive field of national and international researchers at the peak of their careers.

About this Lecture

The field of ecological restoration and the allied science of restoration ecology is undergoing a phase-shift in scope and level of activity both in Australia and elsewhere. Ranging from restoration of local patches of bush through to attempts to restore and revitalise entire regions, these efforts can add up to a large counter-current working against the negative influences we've all come to expect.

Many challenges remain to be dealt with, including changing climates, altered species assemblages and many other issues, and there is increasing recognition that effective management and conservation of ecosystems in the future is likely to need cleverer and more purposeful interventions.

All this sums to the potential for an optimistic view of the future tempered by a dose of realism concerning the challenges to be faced. Whether Hanrahan proves to be right or not depends on how we approach these challenges now and in the future.

About Richard Hobbs

Richard Hobbs is Professor of Restoration Ecology in the School of Plant Biology at The University of Western Australia, where he holds an ARC Australian Laureate Fellowship, and leads the Ecosystem Restoration Laboratory, a dynamic research group engaged in a variety of projects.

Originally from Scotland, he spent 3 years in California and has been in Western Australia since 1984, working with CSIRO and at Murdoch University before joining UWA in 2009. His particular interests are in vegetation dynamics and management, invasive species, ecosystem restoration, conservation biology and landscape ecology. He is the author of over 300 scientific publications and author/editor of 18 books.

He serves or has served in executive positions in a number of learned societies and on numerous editorial boards and is currently Editor-in-Chief of the journal Restoration Ecology. He was elected to the Australian Academy of Science in 2004. His current research focuses on "Intervention ecology: managing ecosystems in the 21st century".


The details of the lecture are as follows:
Date: Wednesday, 21 October 2009
Time: 5:30pm
Location: University Club Theatre Auditorium
Cost: The lecture will be followed by refreshments.
This lecture is free and open to the public. Please RSVP your attendance to 6488 1340 or [email protected] .
Enquiries: [email protected] or (+61 8) 6488 1340

For further information visit the website .

Media references

Magdalena Matuszczyk / [email protected] / 6488 4277

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