SER Media Page

Free public lecture

Little lady with big implications: life, times and death of the Hobbits of Flores

Professor Mike Morwood

Mal Nairn Auditorium
12noon – 1pm
Monday 26 May

ABSTRACT
This lecture will describe the discovery of a new human species, Homo floresiensis, on the island of Flores in East Indonesia. These tiny people, dubbed Hobbits in the general media, had some extremely primitive traits previously only found in ancestral human species in Africa, but managed to survive on their island refuge until a mere 12,000 years ago - along with pygmy elephants, giant rats and Komodo dragons. Their discovery has major implications for the earliest dispersal of ancestral humans out of Africa - especially in the context of what is known about the history of animal dispersal across Southeast Asia, the peculiarities of evolution on islands, and in-progress research on other islands in the region.

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Top End Water Talks - Friday 30th May 2008

(CDU Media Release 25 Mar 08)

The topic of the May Symposium is “Water in the Top End: Opportunities and Constraints” and aims to address wideranging issues surrounding the future uses of water resources, including agriculture, climate change and water, social and cultural dimensions of water, and results of the Northern Australia Water Use Summit. Water is now recognised as a scarce resource, with a potentially powerful economic, environmental and cultural impact on the future of all Australians. This symposium will facilitate discussion and debate about water use in the Top End and is free to members of the public.

An economist’s take on agriculture in the Top End -

Adam Drucker

Adam's presentation will provide an overview of the history and characteristics of agricultural development in the Top End, and consider factors that affect the profitability and long-term environmental sustainability of Top End agricultural practices.

Adam will discuss potential agricultural developments in the context of calls for Australian agriculture to move north, globalisation and climate change. He will also address the degree to which these agricultural development models might be followed, particularly given the rise of the “carbon economy”.

Bio

Dr Adam G. Drucker is an environmental/ecological economist and a senior research fellow in Charles Darwin University’s School for Environmental Research. He has been involved in a wide range of natural resource management issues, including sustainable agriculture and rural development, deforestation, biodiversity conservation, water contamination, climate change, environmental policy development and the use of market-based instruments.

Prior to commencing at CDU, Adam held a number of positions in Latin America and Africa with the United Nations, national governments, international NGOs, the University of London and DFID, and the International Livestock Research Institute (CGIAR).

Scenarios for the future - Prof Stephen Garnett

The northern landscape has been on the brink of transformation for well over a century. Every generation has brought new promise of a major step up in development, of a society brimming with economic energy and enterprise. And once again the call is out to move the farmers north to turn the Australian tropics into a land of silk and money.

Stephen will be joined Matt Darcey of the Northern Territory Department of Primary Industry, Fisheries and Mines, to explore the drivers of this latest wave of developmental enthusiasm, the decisions that need to be made, the thresholds we should look for.

Stephen and Matt will consider potential opportunities, and their limitations and trade-offs. And they will compare the rhetoric with the nature of investment into research and development. They will not make predictions but will paint possible futures for the Top End, its society, its environment and its water.

Bio

Professor Stephen Garnett is Director of the School for Environmental Research at Charles Darwin University. He is an environmental scientist with an interest in the knowledge needed to live sustainably in the tropics. Educated at the Australian National University and James Cook University, he has spent most of the last 25 years in the Australian tropics, primarily in private enterprise and government.

Stephen is recognised nationally and internationally for research on conservation management, particularly of threatened species. He has more recently become involved in a range of research related to the knowledge economy in tropical Australia, including how to increase Indigenous involvement in the economy, how to attract and retain knowledge workers in the tropics and how to pool knowledge resources to increase economic productivity. Stephen is interested in the application of tropical knowledge for the purpose of improving livelihoods and conservation outcomes.

Dr Clive McMahon wins Vice-Chancellor's New Researcher Award

Congratulations to Dr Clive McMahon for winning the Vice-Chancellor's Awards for Exceptional Performance in Research - New Researcher category. Clive has been rewarded for his exceptional performance since completing his PhD, including his outstanding publications record in high quality peer-reviewed journals, his success with obtaining research income, postgraduate supervision and impact as defined by the RQF/ERA.

Past media releases are also available.