Changing our thinking on climate change

Southern Cross University academics will join one of Australia’s foremost scientists in presenting a one-day climate change workshop in Byron Bay on February 25.

Managing the Challenge of Climate Change is designed to offer managers and executives within the public and private sectors practical advice on how to tackle issues of sustainability as Australia struggles with the environmental, economic and social challenges posed by climate change.

Keynote speaker will be Dr Brian Walker, a senior research fellow in the CSIRO Division of Sustainable Ecosystems and chair and program director of the Resilience Alliance, an international network of research centres dedicated to sustainability.

Dr Walker believes that we must drastically rethink the way we manage our landscapes, natural resources, communities and organisations. The key to sustainability, he believes, is to enhance resilience – our ability to absorb disturbance and undergo change while continuing to function.

“Increasingly, cracks are appearing in the capacity of communities, ecosystems and landscapes to provide the goods and services that sustain our planet’s wellbeing,” Dr Walker said. “Research has shown that local communities are better able to withstand various cycles of change if they know more about the ecological drivers of their region, embrace rather than control the processes of natural change, and are empowered to make their own decisions about appropriate local developments.”

Leading green entrepreneurs, senior public and private executives, and academics from Southern Cross University, the University of Technology Sydney and Griffith University will help lead the discussion. The impressive line-up includes Head of the School of Environmental Science and Management at Southern Cross University, Professor Jerry Vanclay, and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Professor Jenny Graham.

The workshop is being co-ordinated by Southern Cross University and the Ethos Foundation and will be held on February 25 at the Byron Bay Beach Resort. Bookings are essential. For further information contact Ken McLeod on 0412 871 789 or visit the website www.climateleadership.net.au