The second industrial transformation of Australian landscapes

Abstract

European colonization precipitated the first industrial transformation of Australian landscapes. We review the evolution of the environmental and societal setting of Australian landscapes since this first industrial transformation, the emergence of drivers precipitating a second industrial transformation, and what it will take to adapt. In concert with climate change and growing societal expectations of environmental stewardship, we identify six emerging economies for ecosystem services — carbon, water, food, energy, amenity and mining — which will exert transformational pressure on land use and management. The requirements for transformational adaptation — to thrive within environmental limits — include: fostering new partnerships between government, science, the private sector, and local communities to support local adaptation; identifying critical environmental limits and rationalizing environmental laws; establishing innovative social processes and adaptive governance; and developing innovative, well-supported market-based and community-based incentives.