Renowned animal ecologist and conservation biologist, Dr Denis Saunders AM has been selected to present this year’s Keith Roby Memorial Lecture at Murdoch’s Kim Beazley Lecture Theatre on 19 September.
The Keith Roby Memorial Lecture in Community Science is an annual, free public lecture established by the Keith Roby Memorial Committee in memory of Dr Roby, who was a foundation member of Murdoch University, and a pioneer in the area of ‘community science’ - a phrase he coined to reflect the ideal of science and technology directed towards human fulfilment, social well-being and satisfying the fundamental needs of humankind.
The title of this year’s lecture is: Agriculture and Conservation: an oxymoron or a necessity? in which Dr Saunders will examine the degradation of Western Australia’s Wheatbelt region, and discuss whose role it should be to protect the native biota the Wheatbelt has remaining.
“Prior to clearing of native vegetation for the development of agriculture, WA’s Wheatbelt region was one of the most biodiverse areas on Earth," Dr Saunders said.
"The region’s biota was characterised by extremely rich species’ diversity and a high degree of endemism.
“Up to 90 per cent of native vegetation has been removed, with well-documented detrimental changes in ecosystem processes, species losses, and widespread decreases in the ranges and abundances of many others.”
Dr Saunders believes that conservation of the region’s unique biota is dependent on the retention and management of the thousands of native vegetation remnants, with most of this located on private property.
“Regardless of ownership, this vegetation should be managed for conservation," he said.
“Who should manage this conservation estate, and how should society reward them?
"These questions need to be addressed before we lose more of the region’s unique biota through a combination of deliberate removal of remaining vegetation and benign neglect.”
Dr Denis Saunders is a former CSIRO Chief Research Scientist, past President of WWF-Australia, and currently Chair of the Sara Halvedene Foundation; a member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists; and an honorary fellow with CSIRO Land and Water in Canberra.
He received the International Society for Conservation Biology’s 1998 Individual in Government Award for making 'significant, meaningful and lasting contributions to conservation biology'; the International Association for Landscape Ecology’s 1999 Distinguished Scholarship Award for 'exceptional contributions to the development of landscape ecology as a science and a practice'; and was highly commended in the Australian Prime Minister’s 2000 Environment Award in the category of ‘outstanding individual achievement’ for his highly-significant contribution to the research and practice of biodiversity conservation.
In 2005, Dr Saunders was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his service to nature conservation.