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https://theconversation.com/ecology-on-steroids-how-australias-first-nations-managed-australias-ecosystems-214854>
"On October 9 1873, George Augustus Frederick Dalrymple reclined in a boat on
the glorious North Johnstone River in the coastal Wet Tropics. Dalrymple was in
raptures. A riot of palms, bananas, ferns and lilies descended to the waters
edge, and large-leafed taro grew in strips along the riverbank over tens of
hectares. He came across a large village with rows of neatly made bark and palm
leaf huts. Dappled paths led to managed patches of open forest, groves of fruit
trees, bananas and yams. Nearby, a small fleet of moored catamarans sat
bobbing.
In the colonial literature, there are many such descriptions of beautiful and
bountiful pre-European tropical landscapes. It was clear that people had helped
create such a rich paradise through their land management
By 1886, many rainforest people of tropical north Queensland had been
“dispersed” – killed – and swathes of this biodiversity hotspot began being
cleared for sugarcane.
First Nations groups such as Australia’s rainforest people had skilfully
managed entire ecosystems over the long term, in what has been termed “ecology
on steroids”. These future-making methods protected landscapes from climate
change and buffered them against extinction.
Australia’s First Nations did this through the cold and dryness of the last ice
age, and as the seas rose through the droughts and floods of the El Niño
Southern Oscillation climate cycle.
As we face an uncertain climate future, it’s valuable to look at how people
weathered such change."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
