Liila Hass
THE organizers of last year’s inaugural and successful Exploring Tasmanian Futures I Conference are in the process of formulating a two-day forum, held at the University of Tasmania in Hobart, the final weekend of October (28th and 29th).
The title is: Exploring Tasmanian Futures II: Water, Food and Forestry.
Currently it is being co-sponsored by the University of Tasmania Community, Place and Change theme area and by the Prout Institute of Australia, which supports research and education into alternative futures.
We feel that the cooperative management of these three fundamental resources is critical to the health and well-being of all Tasmanians — including the native animals and the natural environment — and that we are at an critical juncture which requires community education and empowerment in order to create a positive outcome.
It is now universally recognized that climate change is having a major impact upon agriculture and management of water resources. Traditional modes of water management, which depend upon large-scale, centralized infrastructure and megadams, are increasingly problematic. Agricultural practices based upon high fossil fuel consumption are unsustainable. Additionally climate change and ecosystem destruction are the two major drivers of the current high rate of species extinction identified in the United Nations Millenium Ecosystem Assessment. The pressures of globalisation are leading to centralization of planning and the moving of resource ownership into fewer private hands across the world. The challenge for Tasmania is how to respond to these issues.
We plan to have three half-day (approx 3 hours) sessions dedicated to each of the three main topics — Water, Food and Forestry — with a keynote speaker and several support presenters. We plan to have a convener to chair each topic and facilitate a panel discussion at the end of each session, with sufficient time for questions from the audience.
This format aims to provide useful up-to-date information on the topic and promote healthy discussion on the key issues, brain-storm realistic solutions and work toward defining a collective vision for the future as well as planning its implementation. In the final half-day, we plan to interconnect these three themes in an exciting open plenary session, during which the three convenors will present summaries and invite all participants to discuss in which direction Tasmania’s sustainable vision is headed.
Anyone who is interested in taking part and sharing this concept for Tasmania around one or more of these themes, please email the conference co-ordinator, Liila Hass, on [email protected]. There are a few slots remaining for speakers to still get involved.
Please keep the date in mind and we’ll keep you posted as the conference develops. Many thanks.
Liila Hass
Convener
