Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists

The Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists (in short, the Wentworth Group) is an independent group comprising Australian scientists, economists and business people with conservation interests.

The name of the group comes from the venue of their principal meetings prior to release of their first blueprint; Blueprint for a Living Continent.[1]

Program

The Wentworth Group has three core objectives:

  • Driving innovation in the management of Australia's biodiversity, land and water resources;
  • Engage business, community and political leaders in a dialogue to find and implement solutions to the challenge of environmental stewardship facing the future of Australian society;
  • Building capacity by mentoring and supporting young scientists, lawyers and economists to develop their skills and understanding of public policy.

The Wentworth Group first came together in November 2002. Their first statement, Blueprint for a Living Continent, set out what it believed were the key changes that needed to be made to deliver a sustainable future for our continent and its people. The Group emphasised the need to:[1]

  • Clarify water property rights and the obligations associated with those rights to give farmers some certainty and to enable water to be recovered for the environment.
  • Restore environmental flows to stressed rivers, such as the River Murray and its tributaries.
  • Immediately end broad scale land clearing of remnant native vegetation and assist rural communities with adjustment. This provides fundamental benefits to water quality, prevention of salinity, prevention of soil loss and conservation of biodiversity.
  • Pay farmers for environmental services (clean water, fresh air, healthy soils). Where we expect farmers to maintain land in a certain way that is above their duty of care, we should pay them to provide those services on behalf of the rest of Australia.
  • Incorporate into the cost of food, fibre and water the hidden subsidies currently borne by the environment, to assist farmers to farm sustainably and profitably in this country.

Members

The Wentworth Group consists of:[2][3]

Former members

Published works

See also

References

  1. "Blueprint for a Living Continent" (PDF, 135 kB). A report from the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists. November 2002.
  2. "Members". The Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  3. "Blueprint for a healthy environment and a productive economy". Australian Policy Online. Policy Online. 6 November 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  4. "Professor Tim Flannery". Australian Academy of Science. 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  5. "About us". Purves Environmental Fund. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  6. "Professor Hugh Philip Possingham". Australian Academy of Science. 2005. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  7. "Special issue on water planning issues in Australia". Journal of Hydrology. International Water Centre. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
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