reducing the impacts of development on wildlife
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This article was downloaded by: [Florida Atlantic University]On: 10 November 2014, At: 13:41Publisher: Taylor & FrancisInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registeredoffice: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK
Australasian Journal of EnvironmentalManagementPublication details, including instructions for authors andsubscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tjem20
Reducing the impacts of developmenton wildlifeMartin Fallding aa Land & Environment Planning Consultants , New South WalesPublished online: 20 Aug 2012.
To cite this article: Martin Fallding (2013) Reducing the impacts of developmenton wildlife, Australasian Journal of Environmental Management, 20:1, 80-81, DOI:10.1080/14486563.2012.716620
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14486563.2012.716620
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undoubtedly utopian, but offers inspiration to a new way of living consciously within
the ecosphere. Giblett regards Aboriginal engagement with nature as unique and
outside of his analysis: it is ‘not a construction, so it cannot be deconstructed’
(p. 219). This exceptionalism is, presumably, meant to be respectful, but ignores
the intercultural existence of all living Aboriginal people and their aspirations for
sharing the wealth potential of their lands.This book offers a wealth of insights and new ways of seeing and debating
complex and enduring environmental questions. Regrettably, the use of language
and terms (e.g. ‘signifiance’, after Kristeva, p. 10) that will be unfamiliar to most
students of environmental management, planning and allied disciplines will make the
text unsuitable as an undergraduate reference. There is much that is good to think
about and much that is good to think with, but the work is less accessible than it
could have been.
David Hollinsworth
University of the Sunshine Coast
# 2013, David Hollinsworth
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14486563.2012.714344
Reducing the impacts of development on wildlife, by James Gleeson and Deborah
Gleeson, CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Victoria, 2012, 234 pp, ISBN 978-0-
643100329, AU$89.95.
Biodiversity loss continues at an alarming rate even though measures to avoid
or mitigate the impacts of development on natural values are now normal practice.
Yet there has been a lack of understanding about the way wildlife and development
interact, and how this serious issue can be addressed in development processes.
This book provides a gateway into the immense subject of development impacts
on Australian wildlife. If you want to find out more about subjects like how to
design wildlife crossings on roads, suitable fences for wildlife, or options for
providing additional flora and fauna habitat, then this book provides an essential
starting point.
Ambitious in scope, the book is structured in a way that makes the subject easy
to follow and relevant to a wide audience. It introduces fundamental ecological
concepts for assessing and mitigating the impacts of development on natural systems
and provides a comprehensive review of relevant wildlife research and management
measures. Local examples and excellent referencing make it a key resource for
professionals working in the development industry.
Many actions to protect wildlife do not achieve the expected results, and lessons
are often not learnt or shared about what measures have been effective and why.
This valuable book will help fill this knowledge gap. Hopefully, it will also raise
interest and awareness of a subject that remains a mystery to many.
Structured in a way that makes the subject easy to follow, the information is
made accessible through quick reference tables and excellent case studies. Measures
described and evaluated in the book include natural habitat bridges, exclusion fences,
canopy bridges and glide poles, artificial tree hollows, salvaging habitat features,
underpass design, and much more.
80 Book reviews
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Although the book provides an excellent overview, with such a broad scope,
many measures outlined are generic and lacking in detail. Much more is needed in
order to apply many of the approaches in practice and to evaluate their effectiveness.
A ‘how to guide’ providing more species and locality-specific information would
enable measures to be more effectively implemented, and assist in developing
situation-specific guidelines and specifications that can readily be constructed.
The book would also have benefitted by discussing how the information
could be integrated into planning, design and approval processes. What designers
need to know, how measures to avoid biodiversity impacts are assessed, engineer-
ing specifications and management plan guidelines remain a future challenge.
Readers with responsibility for development approvals may also want guidance in
relation to approval conditions, or requirements for implementation or monitoring
effectiveness.Some key questions receive only cursory attention, such as design of buffers,
connectivity and habitat corridor requirements, biodiversity offsets, and monitoring
and evaluation. Other gaps are the effectiveness of restricting domestic animals,
measures to protect habitat for invertebrate species, and noise and night lighting
impacts on wildlife. A glossary might have also helped readers not familiar with
ecological concepts.
If nothing else, this book demonstrates why detailed professional ecological
investigations should be undertaken for all developments potentially impacting on
natural ecosystems. Understanding what is on a site and individual species’ require-
ments are essential for determining future land uses and for designing development
projects and managing consequential impacts.
The next time you see a dead native animal on the road, remember that
adverse impacts of developments on wildlife can be mitigated, and that a resource
is available to help achieve this.
Martin Fallding
Land & Environment Planning Consultants, New South Wales
# 2013, Martin Fallding
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14486563.2012.716620
The custodians of biodiversity: sharing access to and benefits of genetic resources,
edited by Manuel Ruiz and Ronnie Vernooy, Earthscan, Collingwood, UK, 2011,
224 pp., $101.33, ISBN 978-1-84971-451-8
In their book The custodians of biodiversity, editors Manuel Ruiz and Ronnie
Vernooy focus on the role of farmers as key holders of genetic resources. More
specifically, they explore the policy and legal aspects of agricultural conservation and
conservation initiatives as practised today on farms in the Middle East, Asia and
South America.
The United Nations’ Convention on Biological Diversity in 1992 represented an
important step forward in the conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources.
It triggered new global interest in the socioeconomic and environmental importance
of biodiversity conservation and sustainability, as well as the benefits of resource
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