Ian Tucker: You suggest that introducing elephants into the Australian ecosystem isn’t such a radical idea as it first sounds?
David Bowman: The Australian ecosystem is in a bad way and ecologists and prehistorians are involved in a big debate about it. We know that about 40,000 years ago, when humans colonized Australia, a large assemblage of animals — marsupials, giant birds and reptiles — became extinct. Imagine deleting all the animals out of the African environment — what you would be left with is an Australian landscape.
IT: Then the Europeans introduced species ...
DB: The Europeans who came to Australia didn’t know about the extinct mega-fauna; all they could see was really good range country. They introduced animals such as sheep and cattle and some of their animals, such as foxes and cats, escaped and became feral. The result is that lots of small native animals are going extinct, but we’ve introduced new animals that are really thriving, such as camels and water buffalo. These introductions were completely ad hoc; there wasn’t ecological engineering — stuff happened.
IT: And the gamba grasses are an alien species, so they require an alien species to control them?
DB: Most of these grasses were introduced when the Australian government had people trying to improve range production. They found this plant in West Africa called gamba grass; they thought: “Beauty! It’s big, it has deep roots and it grows like fury.” They did trials and one thing led to another and it escaped. Weeds often sit and then something happens and they take off. And that takeoff happened with gamba grass during my lifetime in the Northern Territory.
I wrote a piece in 1999 saying that in the next two decades, we’ll know whether this thing will go crazy or not, and it has. Some scientists have predicted it could take over 5 percent of the continent. It’s a grass cane toad, if you like.
IT: So it was introduced to feed a herbivore and become rampant, so requires a mega-herbivore to control it?
DB: My suggestion is deliberately provocative. It’s an elephant of a grass from Africa; maybe the only way to control it is with an African animal. The orthodoxies such as spraying herbicide don’t work effectively.
IT: Although there are well-documented cases where introducing an alien species has been a disaster, you say there have been successes?
DB: The control of the prickly pear with a moth is a textbook example. There is also a very good example that isn’t well known. In the early 19th century, the British wanted to establish another trading port in northern Australia, so they set up Port Essington. The idea failed and the inhabitants died or abandoned it. One of the animals they left behind was a cattle species. The Aborigines knew about it, but science didn’t know about it until it got rediscovered in 1961. Genetic analysis discovered that this thing is banteng — a highly endangered wild Southeast Asian cattle species. So Australia now has the largest population of it by accident. The punchline is that the Aboriginals [sic] value it, safari hunters hunt it and it doesn’t appear to have any environmental detriment to the national parks where it resides — it may even be quite good, a lot of small mammals have done quite well.
IT: And camels and water buffalo have flourished in Australia ...
DB: It’s like these animals have found an empty house and moved right in. It goes back to the fact that these ice age extinctions occurred. We’re not advocating restoration of the ecosystem, rather reconstructing ecosystems to return ecological functions. All the big marsupials are extinct, so you use what’s on offer. African game managers have suggested to me that rhino and zebra would also be suited to the task.
IT: Can you be sure they wouldn’t eat other vegetation that other species feed on, or rip up trees?
DB: The grass-fire cycle is set to destroy the savanna anyway.
IT: How would you put together a study to test this idea?
DB: I think we will use the animals, such as water buffalo, cattle and donkeys, we have already got. The first thing we have to do is break the grass-fire cycle, to control an invasive grass that burns fiercely. Having an autonomous machine to do that, namely an animal is pretty cool. In Queensland, they are already trialing the use of cattle to control infestations of these grasses in nature reserves. The key thing here is using exotic animals for conservation outcomes, not food production.
IT: You also say there’s a conservation argument for introducing elephants?
DB: Australia could play an important role in preserving the remaining mega-fauna on Earth, a plan B. Soon we’re going to be confronting the issue that some of these animals might become extinct, so Australia could play a role as an ark, to help conserve some of these species.
There are complex issues with that, because conservationists in Africa say it might diminish the value of their parks, which are under enormous pressure. Australia is well placed for this role; it has already had a mammal extinction event and does use land for exotic animal production on cattle ranches. Why not game parks? We’re looking at a global biodiversity crisis. Is it right to say: “We can’t go there, it’s impossible”?
IT: What has been the reaction to your idea?
DB: Maybe the people who hate me just haven’t got around to telling me. I’ve had people from Africa writing to me and saying I’m on to something. A number of Australian land managers have congratulated me. They are in this mad situation. We have to do something different. To critics I would say: “Wake up and realize we are in a brave new world without a time machine.”
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
The past few months have seen tremendous strides in India’s journey to develop a vibrant semiconductor and electronics ecosystem. The nation’s established prowess in information technology (IT) has earned it much-needed revenue and prestige across the globe. Now, through the convergence of engineering talent, supportive government policies, an expanding market and technologically adaptive entrepreneurship, India is striving to become part of global electronics and semiconductor supply chains. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Vision of “Make in India” and “Design in India” has been the guiding force behind the government’s incentive schemes that span skilling, design, fabrication, assembly, testing and packaging, and
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
As former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrapped up his visit to the People’s Republic of China, he received his share of attention. Certainly, the trip must be seen within the full context of Ma’s life, that is, his eight-year presidency, the Sunflower movement and his failed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, as well as his eight years as Taipei mayor with its posturing, accusations of money laundering, and ups and downs. Through all that, basic questions stand out: “What drives Ma? What is his end game?” Having observed and commented on Ma for decades, it is all ironically reminiscent of former US president Harry