Biodiversity [4]: provocations

Here are some interestingly provocative quotes from Biodiversity 2037:

• ‘Native plants and animals have an intrinsic right to exist, thrive and flourish.’ But elsewhere in the document we read: ‘Human-induced changes to the environment have, in some situations, led to native species such as kangaroos, Noisy Miners, sea urchins, Sweet Pittosporum and Burgan becoming locally overabundant, often to the detriment of other native species. Coordinated planning and implementation may be needed to address over-abundance where there are significant impacts on biodiversity assets.’ This would seem to point in the direction of culling, though the document hedges its bets by considering ‘non-lethal methods of managing wildlife impacts’.
• ‘Climate change and population growth are expected to exacerbate existing threats and bring new challenges for Victoria’s biodiversity.’…But there’s no mention in the document of what, if anything,  to do about population growth.
• ‘Effective monitoring and evaluation will require increased, systematic and consistent data collection to ensure that management effectiveness and the assumptions built into the program (e.g. the impact of climate change) are clearly understood.’ It’s a pity that’s in the future tense: such monitoring should have been underpinning government actions for decades.
• ‘Continue to provide world class nature-based experiences through Zoos Victoria, Museum Victoria, Parks Victoria, the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Philip Island Nature Park and alpine resorts.’ Mmm…the alpine resorts? Downhill skiing takes place on hills with a view, but is it a ‘nature based’ experience?

The Biodiversity document, like its predecessors, contains much of value. The fact that it’s so like its predecessors, however, suggests that there’s a long way to go.