Fires, land clearing and the value of nature

Like many, I have been dwelling on the tragedy of the extensive bushfires in the past weeks especially having been in Brisbane these past two weeks where the smoke is a continual reminder. Taking the active hope approach which forces one to start with gratitude and I’m in awe at the beauty and diversity of our bush and marvelling at the ability of nature to deliver such force yet to show ultimate resilience it seems by the response over time to recover. This has always seemed to be the case yet there is increasing evidence of the stress we are putting on nature to keep being resilience in the face of our ongoing impact.

It is somewhat easy to sit in the pain of the moment hearing for personal stories of loss and suffering and imagining the destruction of the bush on such a massive scale across so many habitats, the animals and birds, the fragile environments of rocky outcrops, etc. While I haven’t been to most of the specific locations of the fires, I’m reminded of the impact of the  fires in my local landscape.

 The media has focussed on the human aspect which is understandable yet when it turns to nature it seems to be more at the emotional heartstrings of a koala rescue and not much detail on the broader environmental concerns. The climate change aspect seems to be a media favourite to encourage polarising and politicising even when the science is so clear cut which further exasperates me.

Amongst the despair I’ve dwelt on the tragic ongoing land clearing, not just in the Amazon but also here in Australia. In the context of prosecutions over illegal clearing, a farmer put it clearly when explaining that the value of his property increases if he were to clear it. That simple comment demonstrates the value, or lack of it we place on our bushland. We reduce the value of our bush to being an economic commodity. Even in the fire context, the value of losses were almost always in the losses of machinery, houses and general infrastructure. It seems we just expect the bush to heal itself over time and in the past that is what happens but the ongoing stress puts that into question.

But seeing with new eyes (the third stage in the active hope spiral), we need to stand up and acknowledge the true value of our natural world. Some councils are beginning to do this by putting a dollar value on each tree  such as the City of Perth Tree Amenity Valuation Method:

Tree Value = Basic Monetary Value X Tree Size X Aesthetics X Locality X Species X Special Species X Form X Condition X Habitat X Significance.”

Of course it is far more complex than that but at least it is a start in the right direction.  

I’m still sitting with the broader question of how can we move towards having a farm that has higher value by preserving or increasing bushland than one that is fully cleared. Even with a disregard to the spiritual and moral factors of bush perseveration, will we learn to appreciate the connections to water table health, pollination and soil wellbeing?  

The final stage of the spiral is that of ‘going forth’ – what actions am I called on to take? This seems more difficult right now given the contagious feelings of overwhelming helplessness that seems prevalent. It has certainly re-affirmed my motivation to support land regeneration through Trillion Trees locally in Perth both donating and being involved in plantings. But for now I will continue to sit with that challenge and maybe just continue conversations of what can be a pathway forward.