Australian rangelands science – a strategic national asset
Andrew CampbellAustralian Centre for International Agricultural Research; Fenner School for Environment and Society, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia. Email: andrew.campbell@aciar.gov.au
The Rangeland Journal 42(5) 261-264 https://doi.org/10.1071/RJ20062
Submitted: 22 June 2020 Accepted: 8 September 2020 Published: 30 November 2020
Journal Compilation © Australian Rangeland Society 2020 Open Access CC BY-NC-ND
Abstract
Producing, processing and distributing food is the biggest thing that humans do on the planet. In aggregate terms, agriculture has been very successful in ensuring that global food production has more than kept pace with global population growth over recent decades. However, in recent years concerns have intensified about the quality, equity, sustainability and resilience of the food system. Only around one-third of all people on Earth are eating a healthy diet. The food system is the biggest user and polluter of land and water, the biggest driver of habitat and biodiversity loss, and on track to be the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. The recent emergence of a novel coronavirus and the resultant COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the systemic risks to human health from current food production and distribution systems. How to produce more, healthier and safer food, much more efficiently and sustainably, in more difficult climates, and how to share it more equitably, is an existential challenge for humanity. Australian science, and rangeland science in particular, is well-placed to play a leadership role across the Indo-Pacific in this endeavour. The Australian innovation system in agriculture and natural resource management has long had to contend with highly variable climates and extreme weather events, to produce competitive products for global markets with minimal subsidies. The know-how, and associated policies and institutions developed in doing so, are a strategic national asset and an important element of Australian soft power in our region.
Keywords: agricultural production, Australian rangelands, climate variability, desertification, food production, food security, global health crisis, innovation system, land degradation, rangeland science, soft power, sustainable extensification, sustainable land management.
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