Tuesday, December 06, 2011

Getting AID and SUSTAINABILITY right

Nothing needs more attention by the next generation of ALL  students than the shallow wishy washy politics of aid and support for the rural poor .  Economic development isn't just about prices - its also about the value of things . Some of this misplaced concreteness is just simply ignorance of extremely complex economic and ecological issues and a quick fix attitude to things like war and drug supply.   Sure we've moved on ( hate that phrase really) from the simple days when handouts to disasters was the only form of aid by governments.
Plenty of positives TOO  in complex effective support for sustainability methods too over many generations with the  missions and their multiple focus which helped to educate the young people so they and their parents can physically and mentally help themselves.
But a huge problem is still with us at home - in our attitude to support competent environmental advice .We don't currently support it . It may seem to you that real support is happening but I can tell you key practical  professional resilience work by our oldest conservation agencies has been decimated. Some of this decimation has been in ignorance , but a lot of it is due to ham fisted arrogance and interference in professional matters by politicians .The Fabians and lefties themselves have forgotten their old mentor G B Shaw  who in writing a book on the subject recognised the huge danger from the evil that can origin itself from good intentions only.
Educated agricultural scientists too STILL get dragged in UNsustainable directions.   Our cultures attitude to agriculture as an industry is far too production  orientated  and DPI agencies across the nation are now decades behind in supporting sound sustainability research in many areas. We even export unsustainability because our approach to technology reflects secondary imperatives rather than primary industry ones.     I know this because my profession of applied resilience research has been decimated even in Australia  by patronising and misdirected concerteness in the area of sustainability .Quick fix by the Green parties too has not been  helpful .
Be green , but ONLY LISTEN to professional independents who study before opening their mouths on the subject.  Otherwise ignorance and speculation may be your master.
Unless the 1% of us who work with the 1% (of our countries rural) , 98% of Australians are prone to getting rural support half wrong . The greens movements too will just have a legacy of straw moves unless they support mainstream science and parliament on matters of conservation . ( the job is simply too hard for pollies but they do try  ) If you have any questions please put them here  ( NSW farmers just got their crops downgraded from profitable to broke threatening them in Dec 2011) You can learn more about a resilience career  here .


Footnote AUSTRALIA 2012
Canberra was never fully in touch ( even in 1980) with the professional edge of rural resilience support but ,  in 2011 it is completely lost,  because the profession is lost . No quick fix NOW by the Feds would be welcome as even the regional support mechanisms  for rural areas in our own Country are on the nose around the country ( we have people who run our hospitals and councils and care centres who leave the area at weekends )  Common patraonising responses to disasters also doesn't help us either because we live with drought and floods .
What we can't live with is more quickfix political nonsense to solve OUR problems, more quickfix about free trade and ignorant   directions on ecological imperatives from half educated city ites. Is anyone really listening ? Hope you are-- that would be great . Let us know U are and all the best with your career.