wilkie-bombsand-2016.pdf (686.53 kB)
Bombs and biodiversity: a case study of military environmentalism in Australia
journal contribution
posted on 2016-08-01, 00:00 authored by Benjamin WilkieThe relationship between war, militarization, and landscapes is far more complex and nuanced than one characterized by domination and destruction. While the preparation, waging, and aftermath of war clearly have a range of negative landscape impacts, military forces are holding increasingly important, complementary roles in the defense of high-conservation value sites.
Scientists have observed that training areas used by defense forces, to the exclusion of all others, have provided sanctuary for numerous species of flora and fauna. Environmental historians, too, have begun to focus on the histories of militarized landscapes.
Australia, where the Department of Defence holds three million hectares of land, has not been given much attention so far. An exemplary case, however, is found at Puckapunyal. Its restoration in the 1970s and 1980s is an early example of military environmentalism in Australia.
Scientists have observed that training areas used by defense forces, to the exclusion of all others, have provided sanctuary for numerous species of flora and fauna. Environmental historians, too, have begun to focus on the histories of militarized landscapes.
Australia, where the Department of Defence holds three million hectares of land, has not been given much attention so far. An exemplary case, however, is found at Puckapunyal. Its restoration in the 1970s and 1980s is an early example of military environmentalism in Australia.
