The ATSC makes a unique Australian contribution to national and international efforts in the conservation and wise use of forest genetic resources and, in so doing, conforms to the mission and objectives of the CSIRO and fulfils the ATSC’s stated aim of “..exploring, domesticating and conserving Australian forest genetic resources”.
The quality of science undertaken has been consistently of a high order, as recognised in 1994 by the award to the ATSC of the CSIRO Medal for Excellence in Science; and the many other rewards, honours and international tokens of acknowledgement afforded CSIRO and Seed Centre staff over the years.
From the 1940s to today, Australian expertise, experience and goodwill have been drawn upon in international circles, and international action has benefited from the work of great men, such as Max Jacobs, Lindsay Pryor and others. Through participation in the work of the FAO Panel of Experts on Forest Gene Resources ever since its establishment in 1968, experts from the Australian Forestry and Timber Bureau, CSIRO and ATSC, have also more formally contributed to forest genetic resources discussions at international level. Such international contacts have, in turn, influenced the programme and focus of the Australian Tree Seed Centre and the institutions that have hosted it over the years.
Priorities at international level, reflected in the work of the ATSC, have changed from early focus on seed collection and genecological studies underpinning species and provenance research of a few major Australian timber species used in plantation forestry in the 1960s and early 1970s, to collection and management of genetic resources of a range of native Australian trees and shrubs for a great number of purposes and end uses. Such a shift, due largely to changes in the perception of the place and role of forests and trees in national development, was accompanied by increased attention in all countries to native species which provided alternatives to introduced species and which, at times, were part of traditions and therefore more commonly accepted by local human populations for use and domestication.
The meetings of the FAO Panel of Experts on Forest Gene Resources, clearly reflected such trends at international level through an exponential increase over the years in the number of species listed as being in need of attention. In the first meetings of the Panel in 1968 and 1969, some half a dozen species were prioritized for international action and support; in the 6th Session of the Panel, in 1985, the list of priority species had grown to cover 70 pages. Simultaneously, the prioritised activities shifted from collection and international seed exchange, to research, genetic studies and holistic gene management, including conservation in situ as part of comprehensive, sustainable natural resource management (FAO 1968-2002).
The above shifts led to a need for national priority setting among many alternative species and to recent increased attention, at international level, to providing support to developing countries in the preparation of sub-regional and regional action plans, in which priority species and activities, and sharing of operational responsibilities, are determined by countries concerned.
As institutions and expertise in developing countries were gradually strengthened, international action increasingly stressed institutional networking. CSIRO and the ATSC have, rightly, laid added stress over the years on building partnerships with developing country institutions, rather than just providing support to them; and on pursuing collaboration resulting in increased benefits to both parties.
A recent issue of the FAO Journal, Unasylva, went under the working name, “The Delphi Issue”, as -like the Oracle of Delphi- it attempted to predict coming scenarios in forestry (FAO 2001e). While predictions especially in the field of science have proven difficult and generally have gone badly wrong in the past, humans, according to their nature, will always wish to look into the future. Some issues are predictable, others are not. Expectations in science often outrun achievements, and seemingly promising strategies and methodologies are frequently replaced by developments which may have been beyond imagination before.
Without using a Crystal Ball - or intoxicating fumes like the Oracle of Delphi did- likely future scenarios and priorities in forest genetic resources work can to some degree be determined. Then, what is the likely future role in such developments of the ATSC?
Some focal areas of attention which have been proposed[1] and which are supported are:
1. Further strengthen partnerships and strategic research links with Australian Government agencies, educational and research institutions, the private sector and non-governmental organizations. In addition to fostering overall operational efficiency, such cooperation will help underpin genetic conservation efforts to ensure that valuable seed sources are not lost; and facilitate taxonomic studies and the collection of provenance samples, with special reference to still little-known promising species (such as e.g. Acacia crassicarpa). Strengthened partnerships will also help enhance ATSC support to the realization of the Australian “2020 Vision”, and the related renewed interest in the use of Australian trees on-farm.
2. Help foster enhanced capacity in developing countries through training, institutional twinning and academic exchange programmes, noting that benefits from such support are mutual. As an example, breeding work can often be done at a faster pace and at lower cost in neighbouring countries, and may result in earlier availability of improved material both for Australia and for the country carrying out the work than would be the case with purely domestic research in either of them.
3. Catalyze and support networking and inter-institutional collaboration. Recognizing that high levels of adaptation and productivity are achieved only when the genetic and physiological potential of the genetic materials used are well matched with management practices, consideration should be given to possibilities to extend areas of collaboration to nursery practices, plantation establishment and silviculture.
4. Continue the international exchange of scientific knowledge of taxonomic variation, genetic improvement, silviculture and pest management of Australian species, much of which has been developed in other countries. Help extended and apply existing genetic knowledge, breeding theory and domestication strategies developed by or in collaboration with CSIRO, to non-Australian species, with special emphasis on species which have affinities to Australian taxa.
5. Vigorously promote active feedback systems between research and the field, and apply methods to ensure effective transfer of research results into practice. Develop methodologies for the monitoring of diffusion and use of high-quality reproductive materials as an integral part of tree breeding and planting programmes in Australia and in partner countries, promote their wide application and use.
6. Continue outreach in Australia and other countries through publications and information materials, targeting, respectively, policy makers, technical/scientific and popular levels.
7. Carry out studies and document financial and economic benefits of the use of quality seed as a basic step in domestication, and review ecological and social aspects of tree growing and domestication as a basis for lasting success.
8. Continue to be closely involved in national and international efforts related to the development and application of regulatory frameworks and legislation governing access and benefit sharing, biosafety and bioprotection, through:
Success in the above will likely, in turn, help ensure continued access to vitally important introduced genetic resources on which Australia depends, and maintain and enhance existing goodwill which can be capitalised in joint ventures or in marketing of Australian skills and technology.
- Pursuing cooperation with Australian States, landowners and managers to facilitate access to domestic forest genetic resources on mutually agreed terms,
- Promoting continued international availability and access to reproductive materials of Australian trees and shrubs on bilaterally or multilaterally agreed terms and conditions, through mechanisms such as Material Transfer Agreements, in the spirit of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and other similar mechanisms.
9. Develop policies for engagement in fair and transparent commercial activities, consistent with the CSIRO/ATSC research mission for public benefit as well as the increased emphasis on the business nature of the Seed Centre and the corresponding corporate shifts; ensure that the newly adapted CSIRO slogan, “Forestry is a Business”, transmits an unequivocally positive message at all levels.
Going back to the origins of the Australian Tree Seed Centre, and the focus on eucalypts, I would like to pose a final -rhetorical- question, in reflection of the one-sided environmental debate over the past decade related to “biodiversity”, in which the present state of nature is viewed as the ideal one, nature is intrinsically static, and human intervention is considered to be always negative: Are eucalypts, and other tree species grown widely, more, or less, variable today than 100 years ago?
Regarding the reoccurring issues of perceived negative environmental and social effects of eucalypts, let me state that to me, many eucalypt species can be categorized in the same way as the Goat in dryland ecosystems: ugly in the eyes of some people, but tough, versatile, invaluable and, in many cases and occasions, irreplaceable. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with the goat, nor with the eucalypts, or other fast-growing, widely-introduced or used pioneer tree species. The problem, when and if there is one, is in the management of these species by Man.
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[1] See Drielsma et al.
1997; and information found in Anon.2002f. |
