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Professor Paul Adam

  • Acting Commissioner- Land and Environment Court
  • Committee Member- Australian Network of Plant Conservation
  • School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of New South Wales

Paul Adam has carried out research in a variety of habitats, such as saltmarsh, rainforest and heathland. For many years he has been involved with government conservation agencies, as well as NGO environmental groups.He is also actively involved in the development of environmental policy, leading to the implementation of threatened species legislation in NSW. His work shows continuing interest in the interaction between science and the law in the environmental area, which has led to his role as Acting Commissioner of the Land and Environment Court. Some of his many great achievements include writing the nomination for the listing of NSW rainforests on the World Heritage List, and writing monographs on both saltmarsh and rainforest ecology, and his many years of commitment to the bush management activities of the National Trust in NSW.

As a general preface, I have been fortunate to have enjoyed a privileged life. I received excellent education at school and university, and have had a career which has provided me with opportunities for fieldwork in fascinating places. All of this has been at cost to the public purse, so I have considered that I have a responsibility to repay this debt through service to the community in the broadest sense. This is perhaps an old-fashioned view these days – and it might sound a little pretentious. (Perhaps it is reflection of my old school motto – praesis ut prosis (very loosely translated as – privilege brings responsibility).

What has led you to become a leader in Flora conservation and promoting the environment in general?

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 Having spent my childhood in north-west England, on the shores of Morecambe Bay, and the edge of the Lake District, the natural environment has always been an important part of my life. When I left school my inclinations were very much towards zoology, but in my gap year I had the good luck to work as scientific assistant (the very bottom ladder in the scientific public service) in what was then known as the Nature Conservancy in the United Kingdom. For this year I worked as an assistant for a plant ecologist whose field was saltmarsh ecology. This had the effect of converting me to being a botanist, introducing me to the science behind conservation, and was the start of my subsequent lifelong interest in saltmarsh. Serendipity plays a major part in many careers.

 

The interest in conservation and plants has been behind much of my involvement with the broader community. I am not sure that I see myself as a leader – there are many active local groups with great knowledge – they know what they want and my role has been to provide technical information and guidance – very much as a mentor rather than as a leader. It has been a two-way engagement, I have learned a great deal from my involvement.

 

In terms of my involvement with the broader environmental movement in Sydney (and beyond) I was elected member of the Nature Conservation Council of New South Wales (NCC) in the early 1980s and served in that role for about 10 years. The NCC is the peak group of natural history and environmental associations in the state and has an important role in identifying key issues and lobbying all levels of government. I was also active for a long time in the National Trust (New South Wales), serving on the Coastal, landscape and Bush management committees, and eventually serving four years as a member of the Board of the Trust. The National Trust has broad objectives and interests ranging from heritage buildings to landscapes. I felt it important that the Trust have an active involvement in landscape conservation – the other environment groups concentrate on organisms and ecosystems but I feel the landscape approach provides a context for considering other aspects of conservation.

What do you consider to be your role as an environmental leader in the community of Sydney, particularly as part of the Australian Network for Plant Conservation?

I give many talks to local natural history groups, and to bodies like Rotary. I see this as a chance to discuss issues, and, I hope to present scientifically sound information.

The ANPC is a small (relatively) national society which promotes plant conservation, through publications, workshops and training courses. In terms of promoting techniques for preserving germplasm and approaches to regeneration the organisation fills a niche which no other group occupies.

What are some examples of your contributions to conservation in the areas of legislation, with non-government organisations and through research?

Early in my career, I was nominated by the University of New South Wales to a position on the Wollemi National Park Advisory Committee – this was just prior to the establishment of this very large park. I served on the committee for a number of years, and later became a member of the Botany Bay advisory committee, and then the National Parks and Wildlife Service Advisory Council. I hope I was able to contribute a scientific perspective to the work of these bodies – but I also learned a great deal, and got to see large parts of the state, which has been a considerable benefit in my teaching.

In the early 1980s I was part of the team that developed State Environmental Planning Policy (Coastal Wetlands) 14, which provided an added layer of protection to coastal wetlands. During the 1984 state election campaign the future of rainforest was a major issue. Neville W ran, leader of the Australian Labor Party in New South Wales, promised that if Labor won the election he would move to list New South Wales rainforests on the World Heritage list. After the election there was a need to move quickly. I was not a rainforest expert – but I did conduct a rainforest field course as part of my yearly teaching. I was engaged to prepare the listing. This led to immersion in rainforest for about six months, when I visited many of the state’s rainforests. At the time there was doubt that nomination was possible – all previous listings have been for single sites – but no single site in New South Wales illustrated all the features of rainforest. I was able to present a case for linking a series of sites to describe the evolutionary history of rainforest in New South Wales and Australia. The nomination set new standards for World Heritage nomination documents. The listing was accepted and was followed by proposals for other thematic multisite listings around the world. One of the consequences of my involvement with the World Heritage listing was an approach from Oxford University press to write a book on Australian rainforest; it also led to Geoff Williams becoming my research student, the start of a long-running collaboration in the field of rainforest pollination ecology.

I was the inaugural vice chair and subsequently Chair, of Threatened Species Scientific Committee, the body which in New South Wales is responsible for determining which species, communities and populations are listed on the schedules of the Threatened Species Conservation Act. I have been involved with numerous committees and working parties, at all levels of government, working on aspects of wetlands conservation management, vegetation management across large rural areas and the management of specific sites.

As previously indicated I have been involved with many non-government organisation conservation groups, I have been active in professional science societies, including been secretary for two separate terms, of the Ecological Society of Australia

Much of my research has been on aspects of saltmarsh ecology, my other major area of research has been rainforest pollination ecology but I have been involved in many other habitats and many other areas of research, including heathland, semiarid areas, and research on the teaching of biology.

As a member of the editorial board for Biodiversity and Conservation, the ANPS, and as acting commissioner in the land and environment court, what are your typical roles and duties?

One of the most important features of scientific practice is peer review – where scientists test and critique manuscripts before they are accepted for publication. This is an essential quality control mechanism – the method is not always perfect, but it is the best approach that we have.

However, it only works if experienced scientists are prepared to act as referees and editors. As part of my sense of obligation to my profession I have been involved with editing a number of journals and currently I am an associate editor of Wetlands (the Journal of the Society of Wetland Scientists) and I act as referee for numerous journals in many different fields of science and the application of science. This occupies a lot of time, but I consider it extremely important.

How would someone 'lead' the future of conservation and management of native flora and fauna, and the environment in general, in Australia?

I think it is important that the environmental movement have access to scientific experience and advice. However I think it is important that these arrangements are partnerships; scientists do not have all (or even any) of the answers, but we can act as mentors and sounding boards and if our arguments are scientifically based we can provide support credibility to the broader conservation and environmental movement.

 

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