Legal history is sometimes seen, to quote William Wordsworth, as little more than the study of ‘old, unhappy, far-off things’.1 Paul Finn recently observed that legal history has, ‘for the most part, … been marginalised to the point of near…
The importance of natural ecosystems to people and their societies has been articulated by scientists since the early 1960s. From this emerged the concept of ecosystem services in the 1970s and 1980s that began to categorize ecosystem services, value…
Coastal wetlands provide vital ecosystem services, including nutrient cycling, disaster risk reduction, and habitat for biodiversity, including shorebirds, seabirds, turtles and fish. How we design and implement policy approaches for the conservation…
Australia’s 2019–20 fire season has been described as the ‘Black Summer’. Vast swathes of the continent burned, including areas that have not been fire-prone in the past, such as wet rainforest and alpine wetlands. This article considers the…
Restoration efforts can target very different outcomes. Simply put, restoration is a process, and diverse values and ontological dispositions can shape the why, what and how questions about what people do. Restorative inputs focused on adaptively…
This article assesses the approaches that different national governments have employed to provide and conserve ecosystem services, focusing on policy instruments and common-law court decisions. Applying the lessons learned from this review, we…
The ecosystem services concept is a useful tool in environmental law, as it allows nature to be considered on the same plane of comparison as proposed development. However, the concept has received significant criticism, with many critics arguing…
This article considers the hazards posed by marine stingers (notably Irukandjis) to recreational divers and snorkelers through the lens of Queensland’s unique workplace health and safety regulatory regime. The sustainability of diving and snorkelling…
Mangroves are valuable and highly productive ecosystems providing multiple services, including coastal protection, fishery breeding, birthing and nursery grounds, carbon sequestration and water filtration. Although they are rarely the subject of…
This thought-provoking book by Brian Christopher Jones entitled Constitutional Idolatry and Democracy begins by retelling the moment when, during the highly disputed election period of 2016 in the United States of America, an elector waived his…
