Blunt instruments in Conservation Care

Still heaps of blunt instruments.
Who would have thought the disease would spread across the political divide ?
Liberal leader Tony Abbott talks about sequestration as a major policy platform top counter Rudds new carbon Tax ( expected to force energy prices up by at least 15%)The ETS --the Everhopeful  Taxation  Solution?
Like Obama,  he is relying on the young technophobes who don't really work in the environmental risk planning business. Like fighting a war without experienced generals - it won't only be boys that lose their lives over it !
Strangely both sides can use the words "sequestration" without really knowing what it means _ Whitehead would be turning in his grave at such a plain but totally avoidable  way of degrading sound science practice in 2010.

Worth doing,worth doing well? Why then do so many environmentalists fail to talk things out properly .

for example, Shellenberger in "Death of Environmentalism " There is no place for public debate in the environmental movement. Even librarians have much fiercer public debates and dialogues than the environmental community. Or look at the AIDS movement, where public-health organizations and government agencies have fantastic debates every year. They have peer-reviewed journals and panel discussions at international conferences. The environmental movement needs a national or international forum to debate strategy.
Having another meeting will do nothing . Before you can create debate you have to know why there is no debate - more on cuttingedgeconservation

It was clear to even that that great reactionary Bernard Shaw that the greatest evil is often done in the name of the best intentions. Its going to be a great tragedy for australian intellectual life if the now overly comfortable cult mindset of lefty followers don't change their old worn out chairs soon ( eg ABC) to recognise this .
Do some performnce evaluation ---Evil chasing is ineffectual if you aim crooked . Are the arrows still missing ?

Many of the very popular conservation targets of today( eg closing down timber harvesting), like the targets for the poor in the 60's, will not be seen as succeses in 20 years time , not because of lack of will or good intent , but because the wannabees want it simple.
The left and right fights are irrelevant when real leadership is required as it is in conservation .
Neither blinkered suspisicion of big business (big business bashing.) NOR the market is THE answer to what is government business http:

NSW planning reforms recognise the increasing failure of "Codes"

"Regional involvement is critical in making the right decisions, and there is evidence to suggest that PlanFirst's 'one size fits all' approach may be slightly over-ambitious for effective regional planning. "
The point is , they are understating a running sore of mammoth proportions. "The Taskforce recommends a less centralised, more flexible and more 'tailor made' approach to regional planning so issues at regional levels can be resolved and results achieved quicker."

more info
http://www.dlwc.nsw.gov.au/mediarel/mo20030912_2149.html
prelodgement certification in Victoria is a great idea, but is blunted by excessive ,unwarranted and inefficient duplication of responsibilities. ( how many people do you want at a meeting ?)

Surely Codification (eg codes of practice) excesses derive from the myth that risk can be expunged from decisionmaking in the real world - an otherworldy view.
If we are to live and work with Nature , we must take some risk

Sound health planning is more about reinforcing a realistic evaluation of risk -this highlights the importance of professional performance and process evaluation ---and less about a careless retreat to mere prescriptions and the false ideals of prevention and prohibition
Sound planning must assume and assess risk in each case and not attempt to avoid the need for such individual assessments- otherwise we would do nothing or be made to do nothing ( regulation )

More regulations coming ( WTimes 28th jan ) . It is enough to break any goodwill governments had with stretched producers in this country. Country people aren't exactly pleased with the trends in Australia--- let alone Europe . The EU seems to get the blame . At least producers there have some income protection to pay the 10% environ oncosts of regulation identified by USA execetives recently.
Such oncosts will really help our competitiveness! .
The question is how do we survive all this pressure and put a lid on the nonsense and nannyist stuff . Will those ongoing city centric policy books keep a sense of balance about redtape needs in Australias rural regions . Of course not . Yet leaders fall for them as often as those looking for "guidance"
When leaders ask for a recipes insist it be a local one ( that supporting true biodiversity) - avoid the power transfer to the city and the big institutions - the benefits of an efficient regional extension services must be recognised before the regulators and big guns run riot here as well -
Self regulation is not an answer . Unfortunately the goverenment won't ever go away and probaly will get bigger . Choose the devil you can at least find - in some regional centre

Enthusiasm without Education? : As the ecosystems we live with are complex, few people get enough info in their lifetimes to be able to exercise a level of competency that counts . lifetimes of work commitment need to be supported . a bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing in this context . Creating awareness is Ok but the community investment in education should be in ensuring competent professional decsionmaking is provided to help experineced custodians make decisions in the country .

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