It is a continent faced with considerable and dramatic ecological challenges: erosion of soils, salinity, acidification, continued land clearing, loss of biodiversity and vulnerabilities associated with fire, drought, floods and water management.

95% of the population lives on the coast in major cities, though recently there has been an increase in movement to larger and mid-range towns in the rural areas in south eastern Australia.

Large changes in biodiversity, defining the meaning of sustainability, the realities of climate change — these are enormous challenges facing this continent. However, there are also interesting and innovative initiatives aiming to build a more sustainable use of resources and increase the capacity to absorb changes and surprises.

This seminar will consider the everyday realities of living in a highly conflicted ecological landscape, driven by western market imperatives. Using art and farmers´ images of landscape, the presentation will offer insights into community based activities and local governance associated with catchment authorities and water management, including perceptions of hydrological flows, to technological innovation and practice change.

About Ruth Beilin
Ruth Beilin is the Associate Dean (Academic) at the Faculty of Land and Food Resources, University of Melbourne. She is a social scientist with a biophysical background, utilizing participatory methods to co-research with local communities and government.

She is the former Director of the Office for Environmental Programs, a Director of Greenfleet (an NGO for carbon sequestering), and a member of the Board of the Australian Centre for Risk Analysis.

Her current research interests include: the social dimensions of water management, community engagement in the management of risk in marine protected parks, urban ecology, place attachment in conservation reserves, mangrove management in Sulawesi, grassroots women´s co-operatives in Nepal, and agricultural incursions into forest protected areas in Lampong.