Creating regenerative societies that live within ecological limits
"Our Place: Getting to Know our Local Bioregion (Sunshine Coast)", was a webinar run as part of the Greenprints Initiative, on Saturday, 18 April 2020.
See below for videos and audio from the webinar:
In AELA’s new series, we’ll learn from world leading scientists, economists, lawyers and regenerative communities, about how Planetary Boundaries can help us understand the ecological limits of our world, and how to take action toward a more sustainable pathway for human societies.
In AELA’s new series, we’ll learn from world leading scientists, economists, lawyers and regenerative communities, about how Planetary Boundaries can help us understand the ecological limits of our world, and how to take action toward a more sustainable pathway for human societies.
From Doughnut Economics to downscaling action at the bioregional level, join us for an insightful journey into the meaning and practical application of 21st century Earth System Science and Planetary Boundaries.
Join us for a fascinating masterclass that will provide a detailed introduction to the ground breaking concept of “Planetary Boundaries”.
Professor Will Steffen, ANU and the Climate Council, is co-author of the groundbreaking research released in the 2009 titled: “A safe operating space for humanity“.
Professor Steffen has a long history in international global change research, serving from 1998 to 2004 as Executive Director of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), based in Stockholm, Sweden, and before that as Executive Officer of IGBP’s Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems project.
Will’s interests span a broad range within the fields of sustainability and Earth System science, with an emphasis on the science of climate change, approaches to climate change adaptation in land systems, incorporation of human processes in Earth System modelling and analysis; and the history and future of the relationship between humans and the rest of nature.
In our masterclass, Will Steffen will:
The masterclass will be facilitated by AELA’s National Convenor, Dr Michelle Maloney.
This masterclass is part of a series of important events designed to increase knowledge about Australia’s unique environment, and connect that knowledge to understanding our ecological limits and the concept of “Planetary Boundaries”.
In AELA’s new annual series, we will learn from world leading scientists, economists, lawyers and regenerative communities, about how Planetary Boundaries can help us understand the ecological limits of our world and take action toward a more sustainable pathway for human societies.
If we are to transform human societies so that we live sustainably within the regenerative capacity of the living world, we need to first understand our unique environment and rethink our relationship with our local bioregions.
A bioregion is an area of land or sea defined by common patterns of natural characteristics and environmental processes (such as geology, landform patterns, climate, ecological features and plant and animal communities). A bioregion is smaller than an ecoregion, but larger than an ecosystem or catchment area. A bioregion’s borders are defined by natural boundaries such as mountain ranges and soil types (rather than the political boundaries of many maps). Australia has 89 bioregions and each one is a unique collection of ecological communities, which experiences different patterns of human land use.
Gethin Morgan is a pioneer of bioregional classification in Australia, co-authoring the delineation of bioregions and subregions in Queensland in 1975, and over most of NSW in 1986. In 1990 he prepared a bioregional land use plan for the New England Tableland.
From 1989 he refined a regional ecosystem classification system integrating geology, geomorphology, soils and vegetation. This robust but flexible classification provides a strong predictive framework for ecosystem occurrence, natural values, and land capabilities and constraints. It is now an essential tool for mapping and collating data for land use planning and management in Queensland.
In 1995 Gethin helped guide the delineation of a national bioregional framework, and in 2001 worked with the states and territories to develop the first national sub-regionalisation.
In our masterclass, Gethin Morgan will:
The masterclass will be facilitated by AELA’s National Convenor, Dr Michelle Maloney.
Michelle and Gethin will conclude the Masterclass with a discussion about how bioregions can form a critical foundation for sustainability programs.
This workshop is part of a series of important events designed to increase knowledge about Australia’s unique environments, and connect that knowledge to understanding our ecological limits, including the concept of “Planetary Boundaries”.
In AELA’s new annual series, we will learn from world leading scientists, economists, lawyers and regenerative communities, about how Planetary Boundaries can help us understand the ecological limits of our world, and how we can use bioregions as a regional and local foundation to take action toward a more sustainable pathway for human societies.