Celebrating diversity: People, place and purpose. A synthesis of the 17th biennial conference of the Australian Rangeland Society

Abstract

Eight overarching impressions drawn from the 17th biennial conference are presented which are generally compatible with views on future challenges and directions for rangeland science and management expressed independently in a recent international forum. These impressions relate to (1) loss of research capacity, especially in the southern rangelands of Australia, (2) a need for greater collaboration and role clarity in rangelands research and development, (3) the importance of scaling issues in the conduct and application of research, (4) widespread understanding of rangelands as social-ecological systems, (5) complementarity of production and biodiversity conservation, (6) progress in regional planning, (7) policy as a legitimate field of research endeavour, and (8) a need to question the 'traditional' perspective on rangeland science.