tag:theconversation.com,2011:/institutions/the-university-of-western-australia-1067/articlesThe University of Western Australia2024-03-28T03:27:34Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2267322024-03-28T03:27:34Z2024-03-28T03:27:34ZNSW may end its COVID vaccine mandate for health workers. That doesn’t mean it was a bad idea in the first place<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584921/original/file-20240328-26-z9guow.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C14%2C4913%2C3260&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-face-mask-getting-vaccinated-hospital-1954364125">Ground Picture/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211883722000648?via%3Dihub">among the first</a> to need two doses to keep their jobs. </p>
<p>State and territory governments subsequently implemented <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.11.056">employment and public space mandates</a> which required people to show proof of vaccination to enter hospitality venues and events. A constellation of private companies also required vaccines for their workers or patrons.</p>
<p>Vaccine mandates receive considerable attention when they’re introduced. For COVID vaccine mandates, policymakers offered reasoning including <a href="https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/93754">protecting the vulnerable</a>, safeguarding health systems, and <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/australia-news-live-covid-19-infections-continue-to-grow-across-the-nation-regional-victoria-lockdown-restrictions-to-be-eased-20210908-p58pyj.html">making it possible</a> to open state borders and lift internal restrictions. <a href="https://gh.bmj.com/content/7/5/e008684">Experts</a> and the public sometimes debated the merits of these policies, but the reasons behind them were relatively clear. </p>
<p>By contrast, the removal of vaccine mandates often appears haphazard. <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-it-time-to-rethink-vaccine-mandates-for-dining-fitness-and-events-we-asked-5-experts-176356">Less is known</a> about how or why it happens, or how it should be done. </p>
<p>However, mandate removal may have just as much of <a href="https://theconversation.com/time-to-remove-vaccine-mandates-not-so-fast-it-could-have-unintended-consequences-180781">an influence</a> on people’s future attitudes and behaviour as mandate imposition. As <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-26/nsw-health-covid-vaccine-requirements-healthcare-worker/103629276">New South Wales</a> considers removing its COVID vaccine mandate for health-care workers, it’s pertinent to explore how to abolish a vaccine mandate in the right way.</p>
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<h2>Why do mandates end?</h2>
<p>Many COVID vaccine mandates <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/epidemiology-and-infection/article/medical-exemptions-to-mandatory-vaccinations-the-state-of-play-in-australia-and-a-pressure-point-to-watch/DAAD8CC98E04828A57F1DEB98B4751B5">terminated</a> when state governments stopped classifying the pandemic as an emergency. The mandates which remained in place covered workers in high-risk settings, but even some of these have since ended. </p>
<p>Queensland and Western Australia removed their COVID vaccine requirements for health workers in 2023, and this week NSW <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-26/nsw-health-covid-vaccine-requirements-healthcare-worker/103629276">announced</a> it’s considering doing the same. </p>
<p>This is good news. Governments should treat vaccine mandates like other health policies and review them regularly in the context of changing evidence. Some <a href="https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2021/215/11/policy-considerations-mandatory-covid-19-vaccination-collaboration-social">criteria</a> governments should think about when implementing or removing vaccine mandates include:</p>
<p><strong>Disease burden in the community</strong></p>
<p>Governments should consider the rate of severe illness and availability of treatment options and hospital resources. In the case of COVID, the general population has developed high levels of hybrid immunity from vaccination and infection.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/queensland-ruling-doesnt-mean-all-covid-vaccine-mandates-were-flawed-heres-why-224646">Queensland ruling doesn't mean all COVID vaccine mandates were flawed. Here's why</a>
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<p><strong>Population vulnerability</strong></p>
<p>Health-care workers are more likely to be exposed to disease, and they may transmit it to patients who are at high risk of serious outcomes. This is why NSW and some other states require staff in health or aged care to get <a href="https://www.lavan.com.au/advice/employment_safety/mandatory_influenza_vaccinations_the_new_norm">flu vaccines</a> each year. </p>
<p><strong>Vaccine effectiveness</strong></p>
<p>It matters how well the mandated vaccine prevents severe disease in people who are vaccinated, which COVID vaccines do well. But whether they reduce transmission to others is also relevant. Importantly, COVID vaccination <a href="https://theconversation.com/no-vaccinated-people-are-not-just-as-infectious-as-unvaccinated-people-if-they-get-covid-171302">reduces</a> but does not prevent disease transmission. Outside an emergency situation, this weakens the argument for mandating vaccination.</p>
<p>Another good reason to revisit NSW’s current two-dose mandate for health workers is the fact it’s obviously outdated. Although some other states and territories <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/this-midwife-is-double-covid-vaxxed-but-she-s-still-banned-from-returning-to-work-20240208-p5f3eq.html">have required one booster</a>, this did not have to be regular or recent. </p>
<p>Having received two or three doses of the vaccine, often much earlier in the pandemic, is unlikely to offer protection against infection today. Most people – vaccinated or not – have now also developed some immunity through infection. </p>
<p>Since these policies don’t reflect current evidence or recommendations, leaving them in place could actually be damaging. It may erode trust and confidence in the health system and government, both for health-care workers and the public.</p>
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<img alt="A nurse putting on gloves." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584928/original/file-20240328-26-dp7jw8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/584928/original/file-20240328-26-dp7jw8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584928/original/file-20240328-26-dp7jw8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584928/original/file-20240328-26-dp7jw8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584928/original/file-20240328-26-dp7jw8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584928/original/file-20240328-26-dp7jw8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/584928/original/file-20240328-26-dp7jw8.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Health-care workers in a number of Australian jurisdictions need to be vaccinated against COVID.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/female-nurse-mask-putting-on-gloves-1229815867">Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>So how should we repeal mandates responsibly?</h2>
<p>While it’s important to review these policies in changing contexts, there’s a risk vaccine or mandate opponents will use this opportunity to claim mandates were never necessary. </p>
<p>No COVID decisions were perfect, and we should evaluate pandemic decision-making across a range of measures. But the circumstances and justifications for introducing mandates were very different from today. This distinction should be kept in mind when communicating changes in mandate policy. </p>
<p>For NSW and any other jurisdictions considering removing mandates, first, they should consult meaningfully with the community to drive decision-making and communication. This includes engaging with those who are subject to the mandate and those indirectly affected by it. </p>
<p>We applaud NSW Health for <a href="https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/news/Pages/20240325_01.aspx">consulting</a> with health workforce stakeholders. However, they haven’t described consulting with patients or vulnerable groups, who may worry mandate removal exposes them to untenable risk from their health-care providers. It’s important to prepare a communication strategy for this group, too.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2021/215/1/communicating-patients-and-public-about-covid-19-vaccine-safety-recommendations">Transparency is key</a> to maintaining trust in public health officials. When a decision is made to alter or remove a mandate, we recommend transparently explaining the decision and the data that informed it. For communicating about mandate removal, spokespeople could provide clear, simple data that compares the burden of disease or immunity rates at the time of implementation versus now. </p>
<p>It’s also crucial any announcement about mandate removal makes clear that vaccination is still recommended. NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant framed the early messaging well, saying NSW Health would continue to <a href="https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/news/Pages/20240325_01.aspx">strongly recommend</a> employees stay <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/atagi-statement-on-the-administration-of-covid-19-vaccines-in-2024?language=en">up-to-date</a> with their COVID vaccinations.</p>
<p>Finally, governments should provide clear and accessible legal and health guidance to private companies. These employers may still have mandatory vaccination policies in place, and need support on how best to consider or announce their removal. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/unintended-consequences-of-nzs-covid-vaccine-mandates-must-inform-future-pandemic-policy-new-research-222989">Unintended consequences of NZ's COVID vaccine mandates must inform future pandemic policy – new research</a>
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<p>The abolition of COVID vaccine mandates is an important milestone in our journey out of the pandemic. At the same time, it means governments need to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00495-8">ensure high voluntary vaccine uptake</a>. </p>
<p>This requires funding, efficient service delivery, support for health-care workers who administer vaccines, and persuasive public health campaigns. When governments manage mandate removal well, they make it easier for themselves to continue to protect the public against disease.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226732/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katie Attwell is a specialist advisor to the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation. She is a past recipient of a Discovery Early Career Researcher Award funded by the Australian Research Council of the Australian Government (DE19000158). She leads the "Coronavax" project, which is funded by the Government of Western Australia. She leads “MandEval: Effectiveness and Consequences of Australia's COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates” funded by the Medical Research Future Fund of the Australian Government. All funds were paid to her institution. Funders are not involved in the conceptualization, design, data collection, analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of manuscripts.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessica Kaufman receives funding from the Australian government and the Victorian state government. She is the deputy chair of the Collaboration on Social Science and Immunisation.</span></em></p>The move makes sense at this stage of the pandemic. But abolishing a vaccine mandate needs to be done carefully so as not to damage public trust.Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western AustraliaJessica Kaufman, Research Fellow, Vaccine Uptake Group, Murdoch Children's Research InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2267552024-03-27T09:57:40Z2024-03-27T09:57:40ZAssange gana una batalla contra la extradición a EE.UU., pero su suerte está aún por decidir<p>El Tribunal Superior de Londres ha concedido a Julian Assange <a href="https://www.judiciary.uk/judgments/assange-v-government-of-the-united-states-of-america-3/">permiso para apelar</a> la orden del Ministerio del Interior británico sobre su extradición a Estados Unidos acusado de uso indebido de ordenadores y de múltiples cargos en virtud de su Ley de Espionaje. </p>
<p>Sin embargo, la sentencia favorable tiene una pega: Estados Unidos puede detener la apelación si presenta <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/mar/26/julian-assange-granted-permission-to-appeal-against-extradition-to-us">garantías</a> adecuadas sobre el trato a Assange, incluida la garantía de la libertad de expresión.</p>
<p>El panel de dos jueces rechazó algunos de los motivos argumentados por el equipo jurídico de Assange y aceptó otros. Han dado de plazo hasta el 16 de abril al gobierno estadounidense y al ministro del Interior para que ofrezcan garantías en relación con los motivos de apelación aceptados. Sin garantías, se concederá la autorización para apelar. Si se presentan garantías, el tribunal celebrará otra vista el 20 de mayo.</p>
<p>El tribunal rechazó los siguientes motivos de apelación:</p>
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<li><p>que la extradición sería incompatible con el tratado de extradición entre EE.UU. y el Reino Unido (esto se refiere esencialmente a la alegación de que los cargos son por delitos políticos),</p></li>
<li><p>que la extradición está prohibida porque implica el procesamiento por una opinión política,</p></li>
<li><p>que la extradición es incompatible con el artículo 6 (derecho a un juicio justo) o el artículo 7 (prohibición de retroactividad de la ley penal) del Convenio Europeo de Derechos Humanos (CEDH),</p></li>
<li><p>que la extradición es incompatible con el artículo 2 (derecho a la vida) o el artículo 3 (prohibición de la tortura o de los tratos inhumanos o degradantes) del CEDH.</p></li>
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<p>Los motivos aceptados provisionalmente por el tribunal son:</p>
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<li><p>que la extradición es incompatible con el artículo 10 (libertad de expresión) del CEDH,</p></li>
<li><p>que la Ley de Extradición del Reino Unido prohíbe la extradición en los casos en que el acusado pueda verse perjudicado por motivos de nacionalidad, </p></li>
<li><p>que existe una protección inadecuada del principio de especialidad (que una persona sólo puede ser acusada de los delitos enumerados en la solicitud de extradición) y contra la pena de muerte.</p></li>
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<p>Los motivos del recurso son en cierto modo sorprendentes, dado que la sentencia del Tribunal de Distrito de 2021 decidió que no debía permitirse la extradición porque sería opresiva. </p>
<p>En la vista de autorización para apelar, parece que el tribunal fue persuadido por los argumentos de que Assange está siendo acusado por acciones que son actividades periodísticas normales. </p>
<p>El Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos nunca ha dictaminado que la extradición vulnere la libertad de expresión, por lo que este caso podría suponer un importante avance en la legislación en virtud del CEDH. </p>
<p>La cuestión del perjuicio por razón de nacionalidad parece estar relacionada con las alegaciones de que Assange, como no nacional de EE.UU., no podría ampararse en las protecciones de la Primera Enmienda en materia de libertad de expresión. </p>
<p>El tribunal ha pedido nuevas garantías porque los motivos del recurso están fuera de las garantías que el gobierno de EE.UU. dio en 2021, en respuesta a la sentencia del Tribunal de Distrito.</p>
<p>La sentencia abre la puerta a una apelación completa. Se fijarán las fechas de las vistas, pero es probable que la vista se celebre a finales de este año. </p>
<p>Si la apelación prospera, el proceso de extradición habría terminado. En ese momento, Assange saldría de la prisión de Belmarsh y probablemente sería deportado a Australia. </p>
<p>Si la apelación fracasa, podría pedir permiso para recurrir ante el Tribunal Supremo del Reino Unido. </p>
<p>Si se le deniega el permiso o fracasa una nueva apelación, en ese momento habría agotado todos los recursos posibles en el Reino Unido. </p>
<p>Es probable que los US Marshals intenten expulsar a Assange a Estados Unidos lo antes posible una vez que haya agotado sus recursos en el Reino Unido. Para evitarlo, su equipo jurídico presentará una solicitud ante el Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos. Los abogados de Assange presentaron una solicitud ante el Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos en 2022, pero la solicitud fue declarada inadmisible sin motivos publicados el 13 de diciembre de 2022, probablemente porque aún no había agotado los posibles recursos en el Reino Unido. </p>
<p>Una vez que Assange haya agotado su último recurso posible ante los tribunales británicos, probablemente se declararía admisible una demanda ante el Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos. La solicitud irá acompañada de una petición de medidas cautelares urgentes para obtener una orden que prohíba al Reino Unido extraditar a Assange hasta que el Tribunal Europeo se pronuncie sobre su caso.</p>
<p>Las medidas cautelares sólo suelen concederse en casos relacionados con el derecho a la vida o la prohibición de la tortura o los tratos inhumanos o degradantes. La sentencia del Tribunal de Distrito de 2021 dictaminó que no debía ser extraditado porque sería opresivo. Los hechos en los que se basó dicha sentencia, a saber, que las probables condiciones de reclusión en Estados Unidos aumentaban el riesgo de que Assange intentara suicidarse, podrían respaldar una reclamación en virtud del Convenio Europeo de Derechos Humanos de que la extradición violaría su derecho a no sufrir tratos o penas inhumanos o degradantes. </p>
<p>La relatora especial de las Naciones Unidas sobre la tortura, Alice Edwards, dijo antes de la vista de febrero que las condiciones a las que se enfrentaría Assange podrían equivaler a <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/02/un-special-rapporteur-torture-urges-uk-government-halt-imminent-extradition">tortura u otras formas de malos tratos o penas</a>. </p>
<p>La semana pasada, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/mar/20/julian-assange-wikileaks-plea-deal">surgieron informes</a> de que el gobierno estadounidense consideraría la posibilidad de ofrecer a Assange un acuerdo de culpabilidad que le permitiría salir de prisión en función del tiempo que ya ha cumplido en Belmarsh. </p>
<p>Los abogados estadounidenses de Assange declararon entonces que el gobierno estadounidense no se había puesto en contacto con ellos, y nadie relacionado con Assange ha hecho más comentarios. </p>
<p>Con la perspectiva de que los procedimientos judiciales continúen durante meses o años, un acuerdo de culpabilidad puede empezar a parecer un resultado razonable para todos los implicados.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226755/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Holly Cullen no recibe salario, ni ejerce labores de consultoría, ni posee acciones, ni recibe financiación de ninguna compañía u organización que pueda obtener beneficio de este artículo, y ha declarado carecer de vínculos relevantes más allá del cargo académico citado.</span></em></p>El fundador de Wikileaks tendrá permiso para recurrir su extradición a EE.UU. si este país y el Reino Unido no ofrecen garantías en relación con los motivos aceptados del recurso.Holly Cullen, Adjunct professor, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2265132024-03-27T01:14:51Z2024-03-27T01:14:51ZThese extraordinary Australian islands are teeming with life – and we must protect them before it’s too late<p>In the Southern Ocean about 4,000 kilometres from Perth lies a truly extraordinary place. Known as the Heard Island and McDonald islands, they are among the most remote places on Earth: a haven for marine life amid the vast ocean, virtually undisturbed by human pressures.</p>
<p>But as our <a href="https://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/publications/understanding-the-marine-ecosystems-surrounding-heard-island-and-">report</a> released today reveals, this special place in Australia’s territory is at risk. In particular, climate change is warming the waters around the islands, threatening a host of marine life.</p>
<p>More than 20 years ago, a marine reserve was declared over the islands and parts of the surrounding waters. At the time, it was a significant step forward in environmental protection. But since then, science has progressed and the threats have worsened. </p>
<p>Our report reviewed these protections and found they are no longer adequate. The marine reserve surrounding the Heard and McDonald islands must urgently be expanded. </p>
<h2>Spotlight on the reserve system</h2>
<p>The Heard and McDonald islands are just a tiny tip of the Kerguelen Plateau – a huge underwater mass rising high above the surrounding ocean basins. </p>
<p>The plateau intercepts the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, the strongest current system in the world. When the current hits the plateau, deep, nutrient-rich waters are pushed to the surface. This supports a food chain ranging from tiny plankton to fish, invertebrates, seabirds and marine mammals such as elephant seals and sperm whales.</p>
<p>On Heard Island, Mawson’s Peak is officially Australia’s highest mountain. It is 2,745 metres high and forms the summit of an active volcano known as Big Ben. Heard Island and McDonald Islands also host valuable fisheries for Patagonian toothfish and mackerel icefish.</p>
<p>The marine reserve around the islands was declared in 2002 and extended in 2014. It now covers 17% of what is known as the “exclusive economic zone” – the area of the sea in which a nation (in this case, Australia) has exclusive rights to resources such as fish and minerals.</p>
<p>The original reserve was primarily designed for waters shallower than 1,000m, because in 2002 little was known about the area’s deeper waters. A review of the reserve system is due this year.</p>
<p>Our report draws on more than 20 years’ of research conducted since the reserve was first declared. It highlights new scientific understanding of the region and the need to expand its protection.</p>
<p><iframe id="oSiut" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/oSiut/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Climate pressures on the plateau</h2>
<p>Climate change poses wicked threats for the Heard and McDonald islands and surrounding marine environment. </p>
<p>We found the shelf area is <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-20781-1">becoming warmer</a>. This potentially threatens species adapted to cold polar waters, such as the mackerel icefish. This species lives in shallow water and is an important food source for fur seals and other predators. </p>
<p>No other sub-antarctic shelf exists to the south of Heard Island, which means the region is a vital animal habitat. Maintaining the islands’ biodiversity in the face of climate change is best achieved by extending the existing marine reserve to cover more shallow waters, as well as protecting currently unprotected deeper waters.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-only-active-volcanoes-and-a-very-expensive-fish-the-secrets-of-the-kerguelen-plateau-123351">Australia's only active volcanoes and a very expensive fish: the secrets of the Kerguelen Plateau</a>
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<h2>Protecting deep-water species</h2>
<p>The Patagonian toothfish is a top predator species that connects different parts of the food web. Commercial fishing in the islands’ economic zone targets toothfish using “<a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/bycatch/fishing-gear-bottom-longlines">bottom longlines</a>” which are weighted to the seafloor at depths down to 2,000m. The footprint of fishing operations has expanded over the past 30 years.</p>
<p>Our report suggests protecting <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304380016303325">spawning grounds</a> of toothfish will reduce risks to this species and help ensure the fishery does not deplete fish stock.</p>
<p>Fishing is managed in such a way to eliminate the accidental catching (or by-catch) of seabirds. But there is still significant by-catch of a number of non-target fish species, especially skates. </p>
<p>Keeping fishing out of some areas can reduce pressure on vulnerable species. Important areas for achieving this are in the deeper waters to the southeast of Heard Island. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-risk-index-shows-threats-to-90-per-cent-of-the-worlds-marine-species-190221">Climate risk index shows threats to 90 per cent of the world's marine species</a>
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<h2>Sustaining biodiversity into the future</h2>
<p>Our analysis reveals an updated understanding of the marine ecosystems surrounding Heard and McDonald islands.</p>
<p>Scientists now know more about where <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1470160X16302977">marine mammals and birds forage</a> – particularly in the important period when parents are feeding their young. We found some species that breed on Heard Island, including king penguins and fur seals, rely on areas not protected by the marine reserve during these times.</p>
<p>Our analysis also reveals a complex mosaic of productive habitats in shallow water, and less productive habitats in deeper water. This in turn affects the distribution of animal species.</p>
<p>Increased protection for the areas in the west, south, and southeast of the economic zone will be needed to protect animals in these habitats.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Increased protections are needed to protect biodiversity in the region." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298059/original/file-20191022-28092-12ocbi6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298059/original/file-20191022-28092-12ocbi6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298059/original/file-20191022-28092-12ocbi6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298059/original/file-20191022-28092-12ocbi6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298059/original/file-20191022-28092-12ocbi6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298059/original/file-20191022-28092-12ocbi6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298059/original/file-20191022-28092-12ocbi6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bird activity behind a research vessel near the Kerguelen Plateau.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul Tixier</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Looking ahead</h2>
<p>The current marine reserve covering Heard and McDonald islands is not sufficient. It should cover deeper water ecosystems and provide protection for foraging areas of resident seals, penguins and albatross. </p>
<p>Protecting spawning grounds of toothfish and areas important to cold-adapted species, such as mackerel icefish, will help ensure these species have the best chance against continuing warming of the ocean. </p>
<p>Extending the protections would help Australia meet its domestic policy and international agreements. For example, the federal government has committed to protecting <a href="https://theconversation.com/weve-committed-to-protect-30-of-australias-land-by-2030-heres-how-we-could-actually-do-it-217795">at least 30%</a> of ocean ecosystems by 2030.</p>
<p>It would also ensure our marine protected areas are <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/marinereservesreview/resources/representative-system">nationally representative</a> – a key national objective Australia has committed to.</p>
<p>By extending adequate protection of Heard and McDonald islands, Australia has the chance to show global leadership in conserving this precious natural asset in the Southern Ocean.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226513/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The report underpinning this article was part-funded by Pew Charitable Trusts and the Australian Marine Conservation Society.</span></em></p>A new report has found the marine reserve covering the Heard and McDonald islands must urgently be expanded.Ian Cresswell, Adjunct professor, The University of Western AustraliaAndrew J Constable, Adviser, Antarctica and Marine Systems, Science & Policy, University of TasmaniaKeith Reid, Honorary Research Associate, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of TasmaniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2266142024-03-26T12:48:44Z2024-03-26T12:48:44ZAssange wins legal lifeline against extradition to the US – but there’s a sting in the tail<p>The High Court in London has granted Julian Assange <a href="https://www.judiciary.uk/judgments/assange-v-government-of-the-united-states-of-america-3/">leave to appeal</a> the UK Home Secretary’s order that he be extradited to the United States on charges of computer misuse, and multiple charges under its Espionage Act. </p>
<p>However, the favourable judgement has a sting in its tail – the US can stop the appeal if it submits adequate <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/mar/26/julian-assange-granted-permission-to-appeal-against-extradition-to-us">assurances</a> on the treatment of Assange, including guaranteeing freedom of expression.</p>
<p>The two-judge panel rejected some of the grounds argued by Assange’s legal team and accepted others. They have allowed the US government and the home secretary until April 16 to provide any assurances in relation to the accepted grounds of appeal. Without assurances, leave to appeal will be granted. If assurances are filed with the court, the court will hold another hearing on May 20.</p>
<p>The court rejected the following grounds of appeal:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>that extradition would be incompatible with the US–UK extradition treaty (this essentially addresses the claim that charges are for political offences)</p></li>
<li><p>that extradition is barred because it involves prosecution for a political opinion</p></li>
<li><p>that extradition is incompatible with Article 6 (right to a fair trial) or Article 7 (ban on retroactive criminal law) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)</p></li>
<li><p>that extradition is incompatible with Article 2 (right to life) or Article 3 (prohibition on torture or inhuman or degrading treatment) of the ECHR.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The grounds provisionally accepted by the court are:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>that extradition is incompatible with Article 10 (freedom of expression) of the ECHR</p></li>
<li><p>that the UK Extradition Act prohibits extradition in cases where the accused might be prejudiced on grounds of nationality </p></li>
<li><p>that there is inadequate protection of the principle of speciality (that a person can only be charged with offences listed in the extradition request) and against the death penalty.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The grounds of appeal are in some ways surprising, given the District Court judgement of 2021 decided that extradition should not be allowed on the basis that it would be oppressive. </p>
<p>In the leave to appeal hearing, it seems the court was persuaded by arguments that Assange is being charged for actions that are normal journalistic activities. The European Court of Human Rights has never found that extradition would violate freedom of expression, so this case could be a major development in the law under the ECHR. </p>
<p>The issue of prejudice on the grounds of nationality appears to relate to claims that Assange, as a non-national of the US, would not be able to rely on First Amendment protections of freedom of expression. </p>
<p>The court has asked for new assurances because the grounds of appeal are outside the assurances the US government gave in 2021, which responded to the District Court judgement.</p>
<p>Today’s judgement opens the door to a full appeal. Dates for hearing will be set, but the appeal will probably be heard later this year. If the appeal succeeds, the extradition process would be over. At that point, Assange would be released from Belmarsh prison and probably deported to Australia. </p>
<p>If the appeal fails, he could seek leave to appeal to the UK Supreme Court. If leave is denied or a further appeal fails, he would at that stage have exhausted all possible remedies in the UK. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1772572351432896945"}"></div></p>
<p>US Marshals will likely seek to remove Assange to the United States as soon as possible after he exhausts his UK recourses. To prevent that, his legal team will make an application to the European Court of Human Rights. Assange’s lawyers applied to the European Court of Human Rights in 2022, but the application was declared inadmissible without published reasons on December 13 2022, probably because he had not yet exhausted potential remedies in the UK. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/after-years-of-avoiding-extradition-julian-assanges-appeal-is-likely-his-last-chance-heres-how-it-might-unfold-and-how-we-got-here-221217">After years of avoiding extradition, Julian Assange’s appeal is likely his last chance. Here's how it might unfold (and how we got here)</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Once Assange has exhausted his last possible recourse before the British courts, an application to the European Court of Human Rights would probably be declared admissible. The application will be accompanied by a request for urgent interim measures to obtain an order prohibiting the UK from extraditing Assange until the European Court has decided on his case.</p>
<p>Interim measures are usually only granted in cases involving the right to life or the prohibition on torture or inhuman or degrading treatment. The District Court judgement in 2021 found he should not be extradited because it would be oppressive. The facts underlying that finding, that the likely prison conditions in the US increased the risk that Assange could attempt suicide, could support a claim under the European Convention on Human Rights that extradition would violate his right to be free from inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. </p>
<p>The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Alice Edwards, said before the February hearing that the conditions Assange would face could amount to <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/02/un-special-rapporteur-torture-urges-uk-government-halt-imminent-extradition">torture or other forms of ill-treatment or punishment</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/politics-with-michelle-grattan-greg-barns-on-the-battle-to-free-julian-assange-185690">Politics with Michelle Grattan: Greg Barns on the battle to free Julian Assange</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Last week, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/mar/20/julian-assange-wikileaks-plea-deal">reports surfaced</a> that the US government would consider offering Assange a plea bargain that would see him released from prison based on the time he has already served in Belmarsh. </p>
<p>Assange’s American lawyers stated at that time that they had not been contacted by the US government, and no one associated with Assange has made further comment. </p>
<p>With the prospect of legal proceedings continuing for months or years to come, a plea bargain may begin to look like a reasonable outcome for everyone concerned.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226614/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Holly Cullen has been a volunteer for the Australian Labor Party.</span></em></p>The Wikileaks founder will be granted leave to appeal his extradition to the US if the US and UK do not provide assurances in relation to the accepted grounds of the appeal.Holly Cullen, Adjunct professor, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2257922024-03-24T23:52:18Z2024-03-24T23:52:18ZWe have revealed a unique time capsule of Australia’s first coastal people from 50,000 years ago<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582751/original/file-20240319-18-jmngyk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C20%2C1649%2C1256&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">West coast of Barrow Island, overlooking the submerged northwestern shelf.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kane Ditchfield</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Barrow Island, located 60 kilometres off the Pilbara in Western Australia, was once a hill overlooking an expansive coast. This was the northwestern shelf of the Australian continent, now permanently submerged by the ocean.</p>
<p>Our new research, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379124000489">published in Quaternary Science Reviews</a>, shows that Aboriginal people repeatedly lived on portions of this coastal plateau. We have worked closely with coastal Thalanyji Traditional Owners on this island work and also on their sites from the mainland.</p>
<p>This use of the plain likely began 50,000 years ago, and the place remained habitable until rising sea levels cut the island off from the mainland 6,500 years ago. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/people-once-lived-in-a-vast-region-in-north-western-australia-and-it-had-an-inland-sea-219505">People once lived in a vast region in north-western Australia – and it had an inland sea</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A unique time capsule</h2>
<p>The northwestern shelf and the submerged coastlines of Australia are immensely significant for understanding how and where <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379122003377">First Nations people</a> lived before and during the last ice age.</p>
<p>When the last ice age was at its coldest (24,000 to 19,000 years ago), sea levels worldwide were about 130 metres below current levels. As the ice melted, the sea rose rapidly, eventually flooding the connection between Barrow Island and the mainland.</p>
<p>Since Aboriginal people did not occupy the island after this time, the human archaeological record of Barrow Island is a time capsule, unique in Australia. Most other coastal occupation areas from this period are now beneath the sea, but these drowned landscapes were once vast and habitable.</p>
<p>The largest rock shelter on the island is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379117302640">Boodie Cave</a>, one of Western Australia’s oldest archaeological sites. Excavations here revealed evidence of Aboriginal occupation dating back at least 50,000 years.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cave-dig-shows-the-earliest-australians-enjoyed-a-coastal-lifestyle-77326">Cave dig shows the earliest Australians enjoyed a coastal lifestyle</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>As sea levels fluctuated through time, the distance from Boodie Cave to the seashore varied significantly. Aboriginal people brought shellfish back to Boodie Cave even when it was many kilometres from the coast.</p>
<p>As the sea rose, people’s diets changed. The quantity of shellfish, crabs, turtles and fish consumed in the cave increased through time.</p>
<p>Aboriginal people here mainly used local, silica-rich limestone for crafting their stone tools. While this material was readily accessible, it blunted easily. Instead, people used thick and hard shells from large Baler sea snails to make knives for butchering turtles and dugong.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581911/original/file-20240314-30-7m01mt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man wearing a high vis jacket stands in a red rocky cave with archaeology tools in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581911/original/file-20240314-30-7m01mt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581911/original/file-20240314-30-7m01mt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581911/original/file-20240314-30-7m01mt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581911/original/file-20240314-30-7m01mt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581911/original/file-20240314-30-7m01mt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581911/original/file-20240314-30-7m01mt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581911/original/file-20240314-30-7m01mt.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One of the authors, Peter Veth, excavating a 7,000-year-old rich layer with shell knives, turtle, fish and wallaby remains.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kane Ditchfield</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>43,000 years of exchange</h2>
<p>In contrast to the cave deposits, the open-air archaeological sites present a different picture. Three years of systematic field surveys recorded over 4,400 flaked and ground stone artefacts from nearly 50 locations.</p>
<p>Excluding one limestone source, most of these stone tools represent geological sources not found on the island. This means they were made out of rocks more typical of the west Pilbara and Ashburton regions.</p>
<p>The artefacts we’ve found on Barrow Island show that Aboriginal people transported and exchanged stone materials from inland or places now under the sea for over 43,000 years.</p>
<p>We don’t yet know why the artefacts in the cave are so different to the ones found in the open air.</p>
<p>The numerous open sites leave a record of how Aboriginal people adapted to sea-level changes. Both the surface and cave records suggest that Aboriginal people used more local limestone and shell tools as rising sea levels cut off access to the mainland or drowned sources.</p>
<p>Imported stone tools were precious and therefore conserved and heavily used for grinding seeds, working harder materials such as wood, and likely for cutting softer materials such as skins and plant fibre.</p>
<p>While early Aboriginal people continued to use coastal resources, they maintained social networks and exchanges with the mainland. The open sites from Barrow Island provide one line of evidence connecting contemporary Aboriginal people to the now-drowned coastal plains, coastlines and continental islands.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583633/original/file-20240322-26-4nwr5g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A dark cavern with a single light source illuminating a rectangular excavation." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583633/original/file-20240322-26-4nwr5g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/583633/original/file-20240322-26-4nwr5g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583633/original/file-20240322-26-4nwr5g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583633/original/file-20240322-26-4nwr5g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583633/original/file-20240322-26-4nwr5g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583633/original/file-20240322-26-4nwr5g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/583633/original/file-20240322-26-4nwr5g.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Researchers working at Boodie Cave.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kane Ditchfield</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>An ancestral connection for Thalanyji peoples</h2>
<p>Despite the distance of Barrow Island from the mainland for most of the last 6,500 years, Thalanyji knowledge holders refer to the use of the island from both historic-era fishing activities and as forced labourers in the early pearling industry.</p>
<p>They know the Sea Country between the islands, and the songline connections linking the mainland to the islands. Traditional Owners involved in our project see the artefacts as evidence of their ancestral connection to the island, old coastlines and now drowned coastal plain.</p>
<p>The Barrow Island open-air sites are a significant time capsule, offering unique insights into coastal Aboriginal lifeways over tens of thousands of years.</p>
<p>These sites, combined with the cave records, provide scientists and Traditional Owners with invaluable opportunities to understand and preserve Australia’s rich and deep history.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The authors would like to acknowledge the Buurabalayji Thalanyji Aboriginal Corporation, recognised communally according to their cultural preference, as co-authors of this study.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225792/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Veth receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kane Ditchfield receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Kendrick was previously employed by the government of Western Australia, and assisted in implementation of the Barrow Island Archaeology Project throughout its field work period. He consults part time as a zoologist and ecologist to Biota Environmental Sciences.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>David W. Zeanah and Fiona Hook do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Barrow Island off the coast of Western Australia holds a unique record of First Nations people. For millennia, they lived on vast plains that are now drowned by the sea.Peter Veth, Laureate Professor in Archaeology, The University of Western AustraliaDavid W. Zeanah, Professor, California State University, SacramentoFiona Hook, Adjunct associate, The University of Western AustraliaKane Ditchfield, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The University of Western AustraliaPeter Kendrick, Adjunct Research Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2252772024-03-19T19:42:37Z2024-03-19T19:42:37ZEven far from the ocean, Australia’s drylands are riddled with salty groundwater. What can land managers do?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580832/original/file-20240310-25-gs1bb2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C11%2C7464%2C4023&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nik Callow</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the 1890s, railway engineers noticed river water used by steam locomotives <a href="https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/managing-dryland-salinity/history-salinity-western-australia-%E2%80%93-salty-bunch-dates">started to become salty</a> when surrounding land was cleared for agriculture.</p>
<p>Over the next decades, the problem worsened. In 1917, a Royal Commission in Western Australia <a href="http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/intranet/libpages.nsf/WebFiles/RC+1917/$FILE/0002006.pdf">dismissed the threat</a> from salt and instead promoted more clearing of land. </p>
<p>Ignoring the problem didn’t solve it. Salt water began rising from below in many new agricultural regions. Crops could not use this salty water. In March 1924 – a century ago this month – the railway engineer W.E. Wood published the <a href="https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/46488592#page/73/mode/1up">first scientific paper</a> on the causes of salinity in Australia. </p>
<p>Wood concluded land clearing was causing groundwater levels to rise, bringing salt stored underground to the surface. He correctly proposed the salt in this region had come from the oceans, after evaporated seawater with residual salt <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/sr/sr9760319">fell as rain</a>. </p>
<p>In 2002, our last comprehensive national estimate put <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4615.0#:%7E:text=Farms%20primarily%20involved%20with%20the,land%20showing%20signs%20of%20salinity.">salinity-affected land at around 1.75 to 2 million hectares</a> – about 7.5 times the size of the Australian Capital Territory.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582704/original/file-20240319-22-tabhig.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="salt crust on ground western australia" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582704/original/file-20240319-22-tabhig.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582704/original/file-20240319-22-tabhig.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582704/original/file-20240319-22-tabhig.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582704/original/file-20240319-22-tabhig.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582704/original/file-20240319-22-tabhig.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582704/original/file-20240319-22-tabhig.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582704/original/file-20240319-22-tabhig.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Salt crusts can form once shallow ponds evaporate.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/wide-open-plain-view-dry-salt-391820593">Taras Vyshnya/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What is dryland salinity?</h2>
<p>Salt is a natural part of our oceans. Some parts of the land have plenty of salt and are naturally saline. Salt lakes are part of <a href="https://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/songlines">traditional songlines</a>. Globally, we also find salted earth where former inland seas have deposited salt and where irrigation has concentrated salt in the soil.</p>
<p>But other areas have become salty due to land clearing. This is dryland salinity. When deep-rooted trees and shrubs are present, they use most of the rainfall. Very little is left over to leak down into the groundwater. </p>
<p>When trees and shrubs are cut down to make way for farmland, more rain permeates the earth. This mixes with naturally salty groundwater and rises to the surface where it can damage plants and infrastructure.</p>
<p>Plants such as samphire are salt-tolerant and can live in salt lakes. Saltbush can absorb salty water and get rid of the salt by expelling it onto the outside of its leaves. But most plants can’t do this. Absorbing salt water will damage or kill them. </p>
<p>The cruel irony of dryland salinity is that plants can die in dry landscapes from there being too much water.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582701/original/file-20240319-24-hr02pz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="eroded landscape and dead trees" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582701/original/file-20240319-24-hr02pz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582701/original/file-20240319-24-hr02pz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582701/original/file-20240319-24-hr02pz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582701/original/file-20240319-24-hr02pz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=389&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582701/original/file-20240319-24-hr02pz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582701/original/file-20240319-24-hr02pz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582701/original/file-20240319-24-hr02pz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">After dryland salinity killed these trees, serious erosion can begin. This image is of a mesa landscape west of Charters Towers in northern Queensland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CSIRO_ScienceImage_4090_Dryland_salinity_has_induced_serious_hillslope_gully_and_sheet_erosion_at_base_of_Mesa_landscape_just_west_of_Charters_Towers_Northern_QLD.jpg">CSIRO/Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The long search for solutions</h2>
<p>In Australia, dryland salinity is worst in southwest Western Australia, as well as the <a href="https://www.mdba.gov.au/climate-and-river-health/water-quality/salinity">southern and western reaches</a> of the Murray-Darling Basin. </p>
<p>We didn’t begin trying to fix the problem in earnest until the 1950s, when state-based <a href="https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/soil-and-land-conservation-council">Soil and Land Conservation</a> services started tackling salinity in Australia. </p>
<p>The 1990s saw the first nationally coordinated efforts through the <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/agriculture-land/farm-food-drought/natural-resources/salinity">National Dryland Salinity Program</a>. This drew together farmers, community groups, <a href="https://nrmregionsaustralia.com.au/what-is-nrm/nrm_regional_model/">natural resource management organisations</a>, universities and government agencies such as CSIRO. <a href="https://data.wa.gov.au/land-monitor">Satellites</a> gave us a better understanding of the true extent of the problem, <a href="https://abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/4615.0Main%20Features12002?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=4615.0&issue=2002&num=&view=">estimated to affect</a> around 20,000 farms.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, we no longer have a coordinated national approach. Government investments have shifted to focus on equally complex challenges such as improving water quality in <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/parks-heritage/great-barrier-reef/protecting/our-investments">Great Barrier Reef catchments</a> and trying to save <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/biodiversity/threatened">threatened species</a> from extinctions. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-have-always-wondered-why-is-the-sea-salty-83489">I have always wondered: why is the sea salty?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Saltbush, not ponds</h2>
<p>So what works against dryland salinity? Researchers have found some <a href="https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/soil-salinity/managing-dryland-salinity-south-west-western-australia">practical and economic solutions</a>.</p>
<p>Revegetating the landscape can work, but requires trees, shrubs and plantations to cover <a href="https://www.wa.gov.au/government/publications/stream-salinity-status-and-trends-south-west-wa">two-thirds of a cleared catchment</a> to manage a problem affecting a much smaller area. This is very expensive, and doesn’t work well with existing farms or for regional communities.</p>
<p>The most widely adopted methods of dealing with salt are based on adaptation, such as planting species <a href="https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/soil-salinity/saltbushes-dryland-salinity-management-western-australia">such as river and old man saltbush</a> on saline land and areas around it. Livestock can eat the leaves, and saltbush species are excellent at living in salty soils. </p>
<p>Other developing options include pumping up brackish groundwater and turning it into high-quality water through <a href="https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/water-management/groundwater-desalination-farms-western-australia">micro-desalination</a>. </p>
<p>Engineering solutions such as pumping out salty water and <a href="https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/water-management/deep-drainage-groundwater-drains-salinity-management-western-australia">deep drainage</a> run into problems with salt disposal, cost and challenges with clay soils, which do not drain well. </p>
<p>Subsurface drains in sandier soils near the surface can reduce waterlogging and salinity, and also increase crop productivity. </p>
<p>In areas prone to dryland salinity, reducing pooling of water reduces the salinity of water <a href="https://hess.copernicus.org/articles/24/717/2020/">flowing into ecosystems downstream</a>. This means landscape rehydration strategies such as natural sequence farming, which deliberately slow and pond water, can <a href="https://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/lr_consultrpts/11/">actually make salinity worse</a> in older, weathered landscapes.</p>
<h2>Less rain but still salinity</h2>
<p>The scale of the salinity challenge is further demonstrated by the impact of climate change.</p>
<p>Since 1970, annual rainfall has <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/climate/change/trendmaps.cgi?map=rain&area=aus&season=0112&period=1970">fallen across Australia</a> by about 10–15%, particularly in Victoria and southwest Western Australia. This change in climate has <a href="https://www.watercorporation.com.au/Our-water">impacted drinking water supplies</a> in WA, forcing an increasing reliance on desalination.</p>
<p>You might expect groundwater levels to also potentially drop. But for many areas such as south-western WA and the <a href="https://www.waterquality.gov.au/issues/salinity">Murray Darling Basin</a>, groundwater levels are actually still rising even as rainfall declines, due to the ongoing impact of historic land clearing.</p>
<p>A key lesson we have learned from the long fight against dryland salinity is it’s very hard to create profitable farms which mimic the original natural systems. </p>
<h2>The fight against salinity continues</h2>
<p>Salinity still <a href="https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/soil-salinity/dryland-salinity-western-australia-0">affects millions of hectares</a> of agricultural land across Australia, driven by the processes described 100 years ago. An award for excellence in salinity research named after railway engineer W.E. Wood was awarded five times in the early 2000s, and will return in 2024 to mark the <a href="https://www.uwaceep.org/wood-award">centenary of his paper</a>.</p>
<p>We’ve learned a lot about dryland salinity in a century, but the search continues for viable methods of combating or adapting to the salt below.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-south-west-a-hotspot-for-wildlife-and-plants-that-deserves-world-heritage-status-54885">Australia's south west: a hotspot for wildlife and plants that deserves World Heritage status</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225277/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nik Callow has received salinity-related funding as an employee of The University of Western Australia and previously when working for the WA Government Department of Food and Agriculture. He is a director of the Centre for Water and Spatial Science at UWA that receives private, industry and public funding to undertake research on salinity and water resources.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Pannell received salinity-related funding from the Grains Research and Development Corporation, the CRC for Plant-Based Management of Dryland Salinity, the Future Farm Industries CRC, the Australian Research Council, and the University of Western Australia. He was a member of a Ministerial Taskforce on salinity in 2001, the Salinity Investment Framework committee for the Western Australian Government, and various other salinity-related committees. He was the fifth winner of the W.E. Wood Award for Salinity Research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ed Barrett-Lennard is Senior Principal Soil Scientist in the Western Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and Professorial Fellow at Murdoch University. He has previously received research funding through the CRC for Plant-Based Management of Dryland Salinity and the Future Farm Industries CRC. He currently receives funding for salinity research through the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. He was fourth winner of the W.E. Wood Award for salinity research.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard George works for the West Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. He was second winner of the W.E. Wood Award for salinity research</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>I previously worked for CSIRO 1988-2014 and in 1999 was the first recipient of the W.E.Wood Award for Salinity Research.</span></em></p>We’ve known about dryland salinity for a century. But while we’ve made progress, the problem hasn’t yet been solved.Nik Callow, Associate Professor - Geography, The University of Western AustraliaDavid Pannell, Professor and Director, Centre for Environmental Economics and Policy, The University of Western AustraliaEd Barrett-Lennard, Professorial fellow, Murdoch UniversityRichard George, Adjunct professor, Murdoch UniversityTom Hatton, Adjunct professor, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2256542024-03-13T04:10:22Z2024-03-13T04:10:22ZThe surprising key to magpie intelligence: it’s not genetic<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581509/original/file-20240313-18-hcxhmo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C0%2C3426%2C2001&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Elizabeth Speechley</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you’ve ever had the pleasure of encountering Australia’s iconic magpies, you know these birds are intelligent creatures. With their striking black and white plumage, loud warbling voices and complex social behaviours, magpies possess a level of avian brilliance that fascinates birders and scientists alike. </p>
<p>But what enables these clever birds to thrive? Are their sharp cognitive abilities innate – something coded into their genetic makeup? Or are magpie smarts more a product of their environment and social experiences? </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.231399">new study</a>, we shed light on the “nature versus nurture” debate – at least when it comes to avian intelligence. </p>
<h2>Bigger social groups, smarter birds</h2>
<p>Our study focused on Western Australian magpies, which unlike their eastern counterparts live in large, cooperative social groups all year round. We put young fledglings – and their mothers – through a test of their learning abilities. </p>
<p>We made wooden “puzzle boards” with holes covered by different-coloured lids. For each bird, we hid a tasty food reward under the lid of one particular colour. We also tested each bird alone, so it couldn’t copy the answer from its friends.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581510/original/file-20240313-20-o5qszi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A mother magpie and a fledgling standing side by side." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581510/original/file-20240313-20-o5qszi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581510/original/file-20240313-20-o5qszi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581510/original/file-20240313-20-o5qszi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581510/original/file-20240313-20-o5qszi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581510/original/file-20240313-20-o5qszi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581510/original/file-20240313-20-o5qszi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581510/original/file-20240313-20-o5qszi.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Do fledgling magpies get their smarts from their mothers?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lizzie Speechley</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Through trial and error, the magpies had to figure out which colour was associated with the food prize. We knew the birds had mastered the puzzle when they picked the rewarded colour in 10 out of 12 consecutive attempts.</p>
<p>We tested fledglings at 100, 200 and 300 days after leaving the nest. While they improved at solving the puzzle as they developed, the cognitive performance of the young magpies showed little connection to the problem-solving prowess of their mothers. </p>
<p>Instead, the key factor influencing how quickly the fledglings learned to pick the correct colour was the size of their social group. Birds raised in larger groups solved the test significantly faster than those growing up in smaller social groups.</p>
<p>Fledglings living in groups of ten or more birds needed only about a dozen tries to consistently pick the rewarded colour. But a youngster growing up in a group of three took more than 30 attempts to learn the link between colour and food.</p>
<h2>How the social environment shapes cognition</h2>
<p>Why would living in a larger social group boost cognitive abilities? We think it probably comes down to the mental demands that social animals face on a daily basis, such as recognising and remembering group members, and keeping track of different relationships within a complex group.</p>
<p>Magpies can learn to recognise and remember humans, too. The bird populations we work with live in the wild, but they recognise us by our appearance and a specific whistle we make.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581512/original/file-20240313-22-4oq51f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A photo of Lizzie Speechley sitting on the grass next to a fledgling magpie." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581512/original/file-20240313-22-4oq51f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/581512/original/file-20240313-22-4oq51f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=272&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581512/original/file-20240313-22-4oq51f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=272&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581512/original/file-20240313-22-4oq51f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=272&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581512/original/file-20240313-22-4oq51f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=342&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581512/original/file-20240313-22-4oq51f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=342&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/581512/original/file-20240313-22-4oq51f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=342&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Magpies recognise researchers and come looking for food.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sarah Woodiss-Field</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A young magpie living in a group gets plenty of mental exercise recognising and remembering numerous individuals and relationships. Working to make sense of this stream of social information may boost their ability to learn and solve problems. </p>
<p>Our findings go against the idea that intelligence is something innately “set” within an animal at birth, based solely on genetic inheritance. Instead, we show how cognition can be shaped by the environment, especially in the first year after leaving the nest when young magpies’ minds are still developing.</p>
<p>While we focused specifically on Australian magpies, the implications of our research could extend to other highly social and intelligent species.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225654/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lizzie Speechley does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Magpies are expert problem-solvers – but just how good they are seems to depend on the size of the social group they grow up in.Lizzie Speechley, Behavioural Ecologist, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2250912024-03-07T05:30:28Z2024-03-07T05:30:28ZBabies in WA will soon be immunised against RSV – but not with a vaccine<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580326/original/file-20240307-22-um2200.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=142%2C194%2C8471%2C5548&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/pediatrician-doctor-examines-newborn-stethoscope-female-2278794293">Dragana Gordic/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>This week, Western Australia <a href="https://www.wa.gov.au/government/media-statements/Cook-Labor-Government/Western-Australian-children-first-to-access-protection-from-RSV-20240305">announced</a> a state government-funded immunisation program against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). It’s the first Australian state or territory to do so. </p>
<p>All babies under eight months old and those aged eight to 19 months at increased risk of severe RSV infection will be eligible for the immunisation in WA this year.</p>
<p>RSV can cause serious illness in children, and news headlines have welcomed WA’s impending rollout of “<a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/lifestyle/health/wa-to-become-the-first-state-offering-rsv-vaccinations-for-babies-in-australia/news-story/ffc9cac0ff8ff9ea98a958ee83ef6de7">vaccinations</a>” against the virus.</p>
<p>But this immunisation differs from other <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/national-immunisation-program-schedule?language=en">routine childhood vaccines</a>.</p>
<h2>Why is RSV important?</h2>
<p>RSV is the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35636455/">most common cause</a> of respiratory infection in young children. By the age of two, almost all children show <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-88524-w">evidence</a> they’ve been exposed to the virus.</p>
<p>Estimates suggest <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35013434/">2-3%</a> of infants are hospitalised with RSV with infection involving the airways and lungs. Infants under three months are at <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32031631/">highest risk</a>. RSV can also have long-lasting effects on children – there’s a well-established link between RSV and subsequent <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31370064/">wheezing illnesses</a> and asthma. </p>
<p>RSV can also be a problem for the <a href="https://theconversation.com/an-rsv-vaccine-has-been-approved-for-people-over-60-but-what-about-young-children-221311">elderly</a> and people with underlying health conditions such as those with weakened immune systems. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/an-rsv-vaccine-has-been-approved-for-people-over-60-but-what-about-young-children-221311">An RSV vaccine has been approved for people over 60. But what about young children?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How do we protect children against RSV?</h2>
<p>Antibodies are a key part of the immune system that protect people against many viral infections, including RSV. They’re usually generated in response to infection or a vaccine, and work by attaching to proteins on the surface of RSV, therefore preventing the virus from invading the cells that line the airways and lungs. </p>
<p>The problem in newborn babies (who are at the highest risk of severe RSV infection) is that previous vaccines have not generated sufficient antibodies to provide protection.</p>
<p>So, two strategies have been developed to protect young children against RSV. These strategies are both referred to as <a href="https://immunisationhandbook.health.gov.au/contents/fundamentals-of-immunisation#passive-immunisation">passive immunisation</a>, because children receive protective antibodies from outside the body. This is different to active immunisation where we give a child a vaccine so they can generate their own antibodies.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A pregnant woman sits on a couch with her daughter, with a laptop on her lap." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580324/original/file-20240307-18-9hxern.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580324/original/file-20240307-18-9hxern.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580324/original/file-20240307-18-9hxern.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580324/original/file-20240307-18-9hxern.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580324/original/file-20240307-18-9hxern.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580324/original/file-20240307-18-9hxern.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580324/original/file-20240307-18-9hxern.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Vaccinating pregnant women is one way to protect babies against RSV.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/pregnant-black-woman-working-on-laptop-1817195420">Ground Picture/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Vaccination in pregnancy</h2>
<p>One way to deliver passive immunity to young infants is by vaccinating their mothers during pregnancy. Maternal immunisation has been shown to be effective at protecting infants from other infections, including <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34446538/">influenza, whooping cough</a> (pertussis), <a href="https://www.who.int/initiatives/maternal-and-neonatal-tetanus-elimination-(mnte)/the-strategies">tetanus</a> and <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9974935/">COVID</a>. </p>
<p>By delivering a single RSV vaccine to pregnant women, antibodies are generated by the mother and transported across the placenta, providing passive immunity and protection to the baby for around the first six months of life. In a <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2216480">clinical trial</a>, giving an RSV vaccine in late pregnancy reduced RSV in young infants by approximately 70%. But RSV vaccines for pregnant women are <a href="https://ncirs.org.au/ncirs-fact-sheets-faqs-and-other-resources/respiratory-syncytial-virus-rsv-frequently-asked#:%7E:text=The%20current%20maternal%20RSV%20vaccine,not%20currently%20available%20in%20Australia">not yet available</a> in Australia.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/rsv-is-everywhere-right-now-what-parents-need-to-know-about-respiratory-syncytial-virus-208855">RSV is everywhere right now. What parents need to know about respiratory syncytial virus</a>
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<h2>What are monoclonal antibodies?</h2>
<p>The other passive immunisation strategy relies on manufactured long-acting antibodies (known as “monoclonal antibodies”), which can be delivered by injection to young children. </p>
<p>This is what will be offered in WA. Nirsevimab (also known as Beyfortus) is a long-acting antibody that Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) <a href="https://www.tga.gov.au/resources/auspmd/beyfortus">approved</a> in November 2023. </p>
<p>Nirsevimab binds specifically to RSV and remains in the body for several months after injection. In a key <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2110275">clinical trial</a> nirsevimab was shown to reduce RSV infections by about 75% for up to five months. </p>
<p>Several European countries have recently implemented infant programs with nirsevimab and are <a href="https://www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2024.29.6.2400046">reporting</a> significantly lower RSV hospitalisation rates in babies. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A baby's leg with a bandaid on it." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580323/original/file-20240307-28-tdjxvt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580323/original/file-20240307-28-tdjxvt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580323/original/file-20240307-28-tdjxvt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580323/original/file-20240307-28-tdjxvt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580323/original/file-20240307-28-tdjxvt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580323/original/file-20240307-28-tdjxvt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580323/original/file-20240307-28-tdjxvt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">For babies, the injection will normally be given in the thigh.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bandaid-on-baby-after-shot-leg-774258127">Allen Mercer/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Antibody therapies in various forms have been used for more than a century for the prevention and treatment of a range of conditions, dating from “<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4898362/">serotherapy</a>” for tetanus, diphtheria and snake bite in the late 1800s.</p>
<p>Licensed antibody products are rigorously tested in clinical trials and through post-marketing surveillance to ensure their safety. </p>
<p>For <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36634694/">nirsevimab</a> specifically, the <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2110275">clinical trial</a> mentioned above included over 1,400 infants. Adverse events were reported at similar rates in the nirsevimab and placebo groups, and no serious adverse events relating to treatment were reported. No significant safety concerns have been identified in the real-world rollout in the northern hemisphere either.</p>
<h2>When does RSV occur?</h2>
<p>RSV <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35083489/">usually takes hold</a> just before the flu season in southern states, and circulates year-round in tropical areas. While influenza almost disappeared during the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32986804/">COVID</a> pandemic, there were <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-30485-3">ongoing cases</a> of RSV, albeit with a disruption to the normal seasonal pattern. </p>
<p>Since 2022, RSV has resumed its normal seasonal pattern. The WA government says the immunisations will be available <a href="https://www.wa.gov.au/government/media-statements/Cook-Labor-Government/Western-Australian-children-first-to-access-protection-from-RSV-20240305">from April</a>, which is timely in anticipation of the 2024 season.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/rsv-is-a-common-winter-illness-in-children-why-did-it-see-a-summer-surge-in-australia-this-year-156492">RSV is a common winter illness in children. Why did it see a summer surge in Australia this year?</a>
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<hr>
<h2>What about other states and territories?</h2>
<p>Free access to an immunisation against RSV should significantly benefit young children and families in WA, keeping children out of hospital this winter. </p>
<p>Whether other states will follow WA’s lead is uncertain at this stage, and we don’t yet know whether nirsevimab will in time become part of the <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/national-immunisation-program">National Immunisation Program</a>, meaning it would be available for free nation-wide. </p>
<p>Ensuring equitable access, particularly for those at greatest risk of severe RSV infection, must be prioritised to ensure maximum benefit for all children and families.</p>
<p>Nirsevimab is likely to be the first of many tools to prevent RSV in children. A maternal RSV vaccine is currently under assessment <a href="https://ncirs.org.au/ncirs-fact-sheets-faqs-and-other-resources/respiratory-syncytial-virus-rsv-frequently-asked#:%7E:text=The%20current%20maternal%20RSV%20vaccine,not%20currently%20available%20in%20Australia.">by the TGA</a> and Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC). A vaccine for older Australians, <a href="https://www.tga.gov.au/resources/auspmd/arexvy">Arexvy</a>, is registered and is also being assessed by the <a href="https://ncirs.org.au/ncirs-fact-sheets-faqs-and-other-resources/respiratory-syncytial-virus-rsv-frequently-asked#:%7E:text=The%20current%20maternal%20RSV%20vaccine,not%20currently%20available%20in%20Australia">PBAC</a>, with additional vaccines expected to be available in the future. </p>
<p>These developments highlight the future of RSV prevention and also the significant potential for monoclonal antibodies to play a greater role in preventing infections as part of public health programs.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/225091/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Blyth receives funding from the Australian Department of Health and Aged Care, National Health and Medical Research Council and the Perron Trust for RSV-related research. He has previously been a member of the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Allen Cheng receives funding from the Australian Department of Health and Aged Care and the National Health and Medical Research Council. He is a member of the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation.</span></em></p>The RSV shot children in WA will get is a monoclonal antibody. Here’s what that means.Christopher Blyth, Paediatrician, Infectious Diseases Physician and Clinical Microbiologist, Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western AustraliaAllen Cheng, Professor of Infectious Diseases, Monash UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2249542024-03-05T05:07:21Z2024-03-05T05:07:21ZMH370 disappearance 10 years on: can we still find it?<p>It has been ten years since Malaysia Airlines passenger flight MH370 <a href="https://theconversation.com/lessons-to-learn-despite-another-report-on-missing-flight-mh370-and-still-no-explanation-100764">disappeared on March 8 2014</a>. To this day it remains one of the biggest aviation mysteries globally.</p>
<p>It’s unthinkable that a modern Boeing 777-200ER jetliner with 239 people on board can simply vanish without any explanation. Yet multiple searches in the past decade have still not yielded the main wreckage or the bodies of the victims.</p>
<p>At a remembrance event held earlier this week, the Malaysian transport minister announced <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/malaysia-says-mh370-search-must-go-10-years-after-plane-vanished-2024-03-03/">a renewed push for another search</a>.</p>
<p>If approved by the Malaysian government, the survey will be conducted by United States seabed exploration firm Ocean Infinity, whose efforts were unsuccessful in 2018. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lessons-to-learn-despite-another-report-on-missing-flight-mh370-and-still-no-explanation-100764">Lessons to learn, despite another report on missing flight MH370 and still no explanation</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What happened to MH370?</h2>
<p>The flight was scheduled to fly from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Air traffic control lost contact with the aircraft within 60 minutes into the flight over the South China Sea.</p>
<p>Subsequently, it was tracked by military radar crossing the Malay Peninsula and was last located by radar over the Andaman Sea in the northeastern Indian Ocean.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579774/original/file-20240305-18-vdbysn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A map of the region showing the initial search areas on 8-16 March." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579774/original/file-20240305-18-vdbysn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579774/original/file-20240305-18-vdbysn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579774/original/file-20240305-18-vdbysn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579774/original/file-20240305-18-vdbysn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=375&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579774/original/file-20240305-18-vdbysn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579774/original/file-20240305-18-vdbysn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579774/original/file-20240305-18-vdbysn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=471&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The planned route, final route and initial search area for MH370 in Southeast Asia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Malaysia_Airlines_Flight_370#/media/File:MH370_initial_search_Southeast_Asia.svg">Andrew Heenen/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Later, automated satellite communications between the aircraft and British firm’s Inmarsat telecommunications satellite indicated that the plane ended up in the southeast Indian Ocean <a href="https://hub.arcgis.com/datasets/4c94d33cfc144f7d8b78943dee56e29b/explore">along the 7th arc</a> (an arc is a series of coordinates).</p>
<p>This became the basis for defining the initial search areas by the Australian Air Transport Safety Bureau. Initial air searches were conducted in the South China Sea and the Andaman Sea.</p>
<p>To date, we still don’t know what caused the aircraft’s change of course and disappearance.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579749/original/file-20240305-25-p456o1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579749/original/file-20240305-25-p456o1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579749/original/file-20240305-25-p456o1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579749/original/file-20240305-25-p456o1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579749/original/file-20240305-25-p456o1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579749/original/file-20240305-25-p456o1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579749/original/file-20240305-25-p456o1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579749/original/file-20240305-25-p456o1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Location of the 7th arc and the origin of debris locations for simulations undertaken by the University of Western Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Google Earth/Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What have searches for MH370 found so far?</h2>
<p>On March 18 2014, ten days after the disappearance of MH370, a search in the southern Indian Ocean <a href="https://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/2014/considerations-on-defining-the-search-area-mh370">was led by Australia</a>, with participation of aircraft from several countries. This search continued until April 28 and covered an area of 4,500,000 square kilometres of ocean. No debris was found. </p>
<p>Two underwater searches of the Indian Ocean, 2,800km off the coast of Western Australia, have also failed to find any evidence of the main crash site. </p>
<p>The initial seabed search, led by Australia, covered 120,000 square kilometres and extended 50 nautical miles across the 7th arc. It took 1,046 days and was suspended on January 17 2017.</p>
<p>A second search by Ocean Infinity in 2018 <a href="https://oceaninfinity.com/conclusion-of-current-search-for-malaysian-airlines-flight-mh370/">covered over 112,000 square kilometres</a>. It was completed in just over three months but also didn’t locate the wreckage.</p>
<h2>What about debris?</h2>
<p>While the main crash site still hasn’t been found, several pieces of debris have washed up in the years since the flight’s disappearance. </p>
<p>In fact, in June 2015 officials from the Australian Air Transport Safety Bureau determined that debris might arrive in Sumatra, contrary to the ocean currents in the region.</p>
<p>The strongest current in the Indian Ocean is the South Equatorial Current. It flows east to west between northern Australia and Madagascar, and debris would be able to cross it. </p>
<p>Indeed, on July 30 2015 a large piece of debris – a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flaperon">flaperon</a> (moving part of a plane wing) – washed up on Reunion Island in the western Indian Ocean. It was later confirmed to belong to MH370.</p>
<p>Twelve months earlier, using an oceanographic drift model, our University of Western Australia (UWA) modelling team had predicted that any debris originating from the 7th arc would end up in the western Indian Ocean.</p>
<p>In subsequent months, additional aircraft debris was found in the western Indian Ocean in Mauritius, Tanzania, Rodrigues, Madagascar, Mozambique and South Africa.</p>
<p>The UWA drift analysis accurately predicted where floating debris from MH370 would beach in the western Indian Ocean. It also guided American adventurer Blaine Gibson and others to directly recover several dozen pieces of debris, three of which <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/where-blaine-gibson-now-malaysia-airlines-mh370-debris-hunter-1787369">have been confirmed</a> to be from MH370, while several others <a href="https://www.airlineratings.com/news/mh370-debris-now-for-the-facts/">are deemed likely</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579756/original/file-20240305-22-q62h9n.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A detailed satellite map showing locations of debris found on the shores of Africa and Madagascar." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579756/original/file-20240305-22-q62h9n.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579756/original/file-20240305-22-q62h9n.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579756/original/file-20240305-22-q62h9n.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579756/original/file-20240305-22-q62h9n.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579756/original/file-20240305-22-q62h9n.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=757&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579756/original/file-20240305-22-q62h9n.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=757&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/579756/original/file-20240305-22-q62h9n.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=757&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Predicted locations of landfall from results of University of Western Australia drift modelling. The white dots indicate predicted landfall of the debris. The aggregation of many dots, particularly close to land, is an indication of the density of particles – higher probability of debris making landfall. These are highlighted by red circles.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Charitha Pattiaratchi/UWA, Author provided</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>To date, these debris finds in the western Indian ocean are the only physical evidence found related to MH370.</p>
<p>It is also independent verification that the crash occurred close to the 7th arc, as any debris would initially flow northwards and then to the west, transported by the prevailing ocean currents. These results are consistent with other drift studies undertaken by independent researchers globally.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ocean-currents-suggest-where-we-should-be-looking-for-missing-flight-mh370-63100">Ocean currents suggest where we should be looking for missing flight MH370</a>
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<h2>Why a new search for MH370 now?</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, the ocean is a chaotic place, and even oceanographic drift models cannot pinpoint the exact location of the crash site.</p>
<p>The proposed new search by Ocean Infinity has significantly narrowed down the target area within latitudes 36°S and 33°S. This is approximately 50km to the south of the locations where UWA modelling indicated the release of debris along the 7th arc. If the search does not locate the wreckage, it could be extended north.</p>
<p>Since the initial underwater searches, technology has tremendously improved. Ocean Infinity is using a fleet of autonomous underwater vehicles with improved resolution. The proposed search will also use remotely controlled surface vessels.</p>
<p>In the area where the search is to take place, the ocean is around 4,000 metres deep. The water temperatures are 1–2°C, with low currents. This means that even after ten years, the debris field would be relatively intact.</p>
<p>Therefore, there is a high probability that the wreckage can still be found. If a future search is successful, this would bring closure not just to the families of those who perished, but also the thousands of people who have been involved in the search efforts.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/mh370-new-underwater-sound-wave-analysis-suggests-alternative-travel-route-and-new-impact-locations-110664">MH370: New underwater sound wave analysis suggests alternative travel route and new impact locations</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224954/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charitha Pattiaratchi receives funding from Integrated Marine Observing System research institute, the Australian Research Council and the West Australian Marine Science Institution.</span></em></p>It remains one of the biggest aviation mysteries – the tragic disappearance of passenger flight MH370. But a new, targeted search of the seabed could still yield answers.Charitha Pattiaratchi, Professor of Coastal Oceanography, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2228882024-02-29T19:07:10Z2024-02-29T19:07:10ZFriday essay: amnesia, time loops, a divided world – how TV messes with our heads in seriously interesting ways<p>With the success of Netflix and its imitators, the long-form drama of the fictional screen serial has moved decisively from broadcast television to on-demand streaming. The dizzying range of shows filling the streaming services are now curated by an algorithm that is a mixture of your own personal preferences and those of people whose preferences you share.</p>
<p>The kinds of shows available on streaming services have largely followed genres we can recognise from classic television and cinema: murder mysteries, romantic comedies, legal procedurals, situation comedies, science fiction epics, and so on. </p>
<p>Yet some shows involve a decisive break from our reality, displaying situations we could not conceive of in our world. </p>
<p>We regard a show as realist if it stays within the parameters of daily life, obeying the rules of rationality. (Crime shows, which often deal with quite baroque situations of violence, nevertheless generally remain situated in a shared reality).</p>
<p>These other shows, involving worlds and people being <a href="https://uwap.uwa.edu.au/collections/vignettes/products/netflicks-conceptual-television-in-the-streaming-era">split by a conceptual premise</a> – amnesia, time loop, a divided world – reveal that television is not always, as is sometimes imagined, escapist. At least it is not escapist in the conventional sense of offering anodyne fantasies that keep the complexities of life at arm’s length.</p>
<p>In these shows, televisual drama functions as a form of serious thought, introducing and acting out experiments that directly address fundamental contradictions within – or limits to – the realism of our world.</p>
<h2>Split selves</h2>
<p>In the show <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4643084/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_8_nm_0_q_Counterp">Counterpart</a> (2017–19), for instance, a physicist in 1980s East Berlin conducts an experiment that accidentally duplicates the universe. He wanders through a tunnel formed in his basement laboratory and finds, to his amazement, his own self walking towards him from the other side. </p>
<p>The action of the story takes place several decades after this radical event. The matter has been kept a closely guarded secret to the populations of both worlds – “Earth Alpha” and “Earth Prime” – but a clandestine crossing point has been maintained.</p>
<p>In the show, the two worlds relate to another like superpowers in a cold war, with agents from both sides trying to steal secrets and sabotage the aims of the other. The uncanny moments occur when an agent meets themselves. They look identical but their characters are different, sometimes subtly, but occasionally diametrically opposite.</p>
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<p>In <a href="https://tv.apple.com/au/show/severance/umc.cmc.1srk2goyh2q2zdxcx605w8vtx?mttn3pid=Google%20AdWords&mttnagencyid=a5e&mttncc=AU&mttnsiteid=143238&mttnsubad=OAU2019927_1-593076090890-c&mttnsubkw=135370895994__LnxkyDhH_&mttnsubplmnt=_adext_">Severance</a> (2022– ) there is another version of this “split world” premise. In this case, a corporation has developed a cybernetic procedure to deal with the problem of what we call, in contemporary HR parlance, work-life balance. The solution involves having a chip inserted into your brain, which functions as a switch. At home you remain yourself, in touch with all your memories and involved in the shared reality of everyday life.</p>
<p>But, when you travel to work, you enter a specially modified elevator. Arriving at your floor, all memory of your former life is erased. A second you, devoted only to the tasks of your employment, now takes over. At the end of the day, as you descend back down the lift, all memory of work disappears and your former memories – those connected to the world outside work – are restored.</p>
<p>In this way, the show replicates the conditions of Counterpart, but without needing to double the universe. Simply introducing a distinction in which two versions of the self remain mutually unaware of each other is enough.</p>
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<p>A split in the self corresponds to a split world. In the case of Severance, the workers are made aware of their situation, but are only able to accept this with a certain infantile resignation. They refer to themselves as “innies” and to their invisible outside persona – the one who has instituted their existence – as “outies”. </p>
<p>This pattern bears a close resemblance to another, and more venerable premise: the amnesia plot. This plot, where a character suddenly loses all memory of their former life, was already a feature of Hollywood cinema in the silent era and was the premise for famous films like Alfred Hitchcock’s Spellbound (1945), Christopher Nolan’s Memento (2000), David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive (2001) and Charlie Kaufman’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). In the streaming era, the amnesia plot can be seen in celebrated shows like Homecoming (2018–20) and I May Destroy You (2020).</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-great-movie-scenes-eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind-74166">The great movie scenes: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind</a>
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<h2>Memory and repetition</h2>
<p>In <a href="https://www.primevideo.com/detail/Homecoming/0JP2LF83DMAYFDREZ20GAG2DAR/">Homecoming</a>, returning war veterans are offered treatment at the Homecoming Transitional Support Centre, which promises to help them adjust to daily life. However, unbeknown to them, they are being administered an experimental medicine designed to remove their traumatic war memories. The object of this program, which is being funded by the military, is not to return the men to daily life but to return them to the front as soon as possible.</p>
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<p>In <a href="https://binge.com.au/shows/show-i-may-destroy-you!7651">I May Destroy You</a>, the amnesia is more specific and closer to common experience. A young woman is slipped a sedative at a bar and is sexually assaulted. But, because she can remember nothing of the evening, the police are unable to take the matter very far. The woman is a writer and is struggling to produce her second novel. </p>
<p>Outwardly, she shrugs off her assault and insists that her main priority is finishing her novel, having all but spent the advance she has been given. Yet it soon becomes clear that so long as she cannot remember (the traumatic event), she can neither create nor live her life. In both Homecoming and I May Destroy You, seemingly such different shows, amnesia creates — or makes visible — a split in the central characters that becomes the defining impasse of the plot.</p>
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<p>The amnesia plot is also related to another distinctive premise we see in film and television: the time loop. In this plot, made famous by the film Groundhog Day (1993), a character finds themselves endlessly repeating the same day. Even if, in desperation, they take their own lives, they simply reawaken in the very same morning that they always do. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-pleasure-and-pain-of-cinephilia-what-happened-when-i-watched-groundhog-day-every-day-for-a-year-198668">The pleasure and pain of cinephilia: what happened when I watched Groundhog Day every day for a year</a>
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<p>In the time loop plot, amnesia is experienced not by the central character, but by everybody else. In effect, everyone forgets everything that happened the day before … except the protagonist. This plot outlines a relationship that exists between memory and repetition – a relationship in which only memory can arrest repetition.</p>
<p>The time loop premise has been prominent in recent films, such as the romantic comedy Palm Springs (2020) and science fiction thrillers like Source Code (2011), Edge of Tomorrow (2014) and Doctor Strange (2016). Within streamed serials, the most prominent example is probably <a href="https://www.netflix.com/au/title/80211627">Russian Doll</a> (2019–22), in which a woman living in bohemian New York is forced to endlessly repeat a single day. What becomes clear in this show, as indeed was the case in Groundhog Day, is that the repetition is trying to teach the hero something.</p>
<p>In both, Russian Doll and Groundhog Day, the heroes are approaching middle age, but are strangely infantile in their self-absorption and failure to understand their implication in the world. They treat life and the concerns of those around them with cynical indifference. The time loop challenges their cynicism by forcing them to experience, again and again, the grain of a single day.</p>
<p>A variation on the time loop plot can be seen in the show <a href="https://binge.com.au/shows/show-the-rehearsal!16797">The Rehearsal</a> (2022). The premise of this show is that a man named Nathan (played by the show’s creator, Nathan Fielder) has created a service designed to help people deal with an encounter they anticipate will be difficult. </p>
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<p>The service allows them to “rehearse” the event in advance, so that when the real situation arrives they will be prepared. While filmed in the style of a documentary, and seemingly realist in its texture, the show quickly reaches outlandish proportions. </p>
<p>In the first episode, a man has to come clean with a friend to whom he has lied about his level of education, (saying he had an MA when in fact he only had a BA). Because this encounter will take place in a pub, Nathan builds a life-sized replica of this pub in a warehouse and hires a team of extras to play the staff and patrons.</p>
<p>He also hires an actress to covertly study the friend in question, so that the client can rehearse his confession with someone who will mimic her reactions and mannerisms. In this case, repetition is not brought about by a break in reality, but held (however ridiculously) in the frame of reality through the concept of “rehearsal”.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nathan-fielders-new-comedy-the-rehearsal-will-be-familiar-to-anyone-with-autism-188071">Nathan Fielder's new comedy The Rehearsal will be familiar to anyone with autism</a>
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<h2>Knowing thyself</h2>
<p>Is this kind of conceptual television something that arises with streaming? Or, does conceptual television simply continue a function that was previously undertaken by classic cinema and classic television, or indeed even older art forms such as prose, poetry, drama and the visual arts? Certainly, each of the premises canvased here precedes the digital age. </p>
<p>The split world premise can be traced, for instance, to the theme of the double (doppelgänger), made famous in 19th-century novels like Dostoyevsky’s The Double (1846), Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886) and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890). The amnesia plot was a staple of Hollywood cinema. The time loop plot has been in place since at least the 1990s.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/jekyll-and-hyde-a-tale-of-doubles-disguises-and-our-warring-desires-187173">Jekyll and Hyde: a tale of doubles, disguises, and our warring desires</a>
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<p>Even so, the digital age has seen these plots gain new and sharper inflexions. The split world premise now has a direct correlate in the split that exists between online and offline living. </p>
<p>Amnesia, insofar as it is premised on the loss of memory, now closely echoes the image of memory we know of in computer systems, which can be stored, deleted, transferred and corrupted. The amnesia plot in Homecoming, for instance, is premised on the idea that the experimental drug can locate, select and delete traumatic memories, as if they were independent files.</p>
<p>Repetition is also distinctive of the grammar of the digital age. Looping and sampling is now central to popular music. Even in a more common genre like dystopia we can see the digital age inflecting these plots through the process of gamification. The logic of the game underpins hit dystopian shows like Squid Game (2021) or the zombie drama The Last of Us (2023), which is adapted from a popular videogame of the same name.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/this-freaky-slime-mould-from-hbos-the-last-of-us-isnt-a-fungus-at-all-but-it-is-a-brainless-predator-200271">This freaky slime mould from HBO's The Last of Us isn't a fungus at all – but it is a brainless predator</a>
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<p>Another continuity contemporary streamed content shares with television in the broadcast era is its pedagogical orientation. Broadcast television instructs its viewers in the rules of living. This is most obvious in the lifestyle programming (gardening, renovation, cooking, dancing, travel) that remains a staple of current television.</p>
<p>A little surprisingly, however, the conceptual shows discussed here also involve an element of education. The heroes have all reached a point of arrest or crisis because there is something that they need to learn but cannot. </p>
<p>In the 18th and 19th century, the novel incorporated education as an important element in its structure. Jane Austen’s Emma must learn that life is not a game to be watched, but one she must actually play. The mild scorn and amusement she held for those around her are substituted finally for an acceptance of her social role, which in her world was to marry.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-jane-austens-emma-at-200-51022">Friday essay: Jane Austen's Emma at 200</a>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574846/original/file-20240212-16-owls0v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574846/original/file-20240212-16-owls0v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574846/original/file-20240212-16-owls0v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=929&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574846/original/file-20240212-16-owls0v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=929&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574846/original/file-20240212-16-owls0v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=929&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574846/original/file-20240212-16-owls0v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1167&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574846/original/file-20240212-16-owls0v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1167&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574846/original/file-20240212-16-owls0v.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1167&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<p>The novel of personal development (the <em>bildungsroman</em>, or coming-of-age novel) finds its continuation in cinema and television. However, what seems to have changed in recent times is that faith has been lost in the possibility of incremental education. Education now comes up against a traumatic impasse or irremediable split. </p>
<p>In conceptual television, this gets mobilised in the premise itself – a split in the world, radical memory loss, entrapment in blind repetition. More hopefully, however, these extreme situations reveal themselves to be new solutions to the ancient injunction to know thyself. </p>
<p>The doubled world offers the hero the chance to meet their other self. The amnesiac finds their excluded memory is the key to their integration, that they must own their trauma. The time loop patiently schools its student in the niceties of living, reiterating their day for them until they get it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222888/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tony Hughes-d'Aeth is the Chair of the UWA Publishing Board and a co-editor of the 'Vignettes' series in which the book Netflicks: Conceptual Television in the Streaming appears.</span></em></p>From Russian Doll to Severance, a spate of conceptual TV series are rehearsing thought experiments challenging our assumptions about the world.Tony Hughes-d'Aeth, Professor, Chair of Australian Literature, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2246462024-02-29T04:33:26Z2024-02-29T04:33:26ZQueensland ruling doesn’t mean all COVID vaccine mandates were flawed. Here’s why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578830/original/file-20240229-18-brmq8t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bandaid-on-hand-person-after-vaccination-2197701537">Andriy B/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>This week, Queensland Supreme Court Justice Glenn Martin <a href="https://archive.sclqld.org.au/qjudgment/2024/QSC24-002.pdf">declared</a> the state’s COVID vaccine mandate for police officers was unlawful. Martin also found the director-general of Queensland health did not have the power to make vaccine mandates for ambulance service workers.</p>
<p>Those who are <a href="https://gh.bmj.com/content/bmjgh/7/5/e008684.full.pdf">critical</a> of vaccine mandates have been pleased by the decision. Clive Palmer, who funded the case, touted it as a “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/feb/27/clive-palmer-claims-great-victory-in-funding-challenge-to-queenslands-covid-vaccine-mandate">great victory</a>” and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson said it was <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=TAWEB_WRE170_a_GGL&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theaustralian.com.au%2Fnation%2Fpolitics%2Fqueenslands-unlawful-covid19-vaccine-mandate-ruling-just-tip-of-the-iceberg-experts%2Fnews-story%2F37435eb2aa0d983422c42734bde381d0&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&v21=HIGH-Segment-2-SCORE&V21spcbehaviour=appendend#:%7E:text=A%20landmark%20legal%20decision%20%E2%80%9Cvindicating,to%20ride%20on%20the%20coat%2D">vindication</a> for those who opposed vaccine mandates introduced around Australia during the pandemic. </p>
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<p>But the ruling doesn’t mean vaccine mandates are inherently flawed. Here’s what the ruling actually found – and what this means for future legal challenges to vaccine mandates across Australia. </p>
<h2>What was the case about?</h2>
<p>A group of Queensland police employees, ambulance officers and a nurse initiated Supreme Court proceedings against, among others, the Queensland police commissioner Katarina Carroll and the then Queensland health director-general John Wakefield. The applicants sought a declaration that the vaccine mandates to which they were subjected were unlawful. </p>
<p>The mandates the police commissioner and director-general imposed were very similar. Each required employees of the police and ambulance services to receive doses of an approved COVID vaccine by a specified deadline. </p>
<p>The mandates rendered vaccination against COVID a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X21015309?via%3Dihub">condition of employment</a>. Anyone who refused to be vaccinated could therefore be subject to disciplinary proceedings, including dismissal. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/unfair-dismissal-rulings-show-personal-circumstances-matter-in-vaccine-refusals-188987">Unfair dismissal rulings show personal circumstances matter in vaccine refusals</a>
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<p>By the time the case went to trial, the mandates had already been revoked. This meant there were limited practical remedies available to the applicants. They had already held onto their jobs, at least temporarily – Martin made orders in the early stage of proceedings restraining the commissioner and director-general from dismissing any of the applicants from their jobs. </p>
<h2>What did the court find?</h2>
<p>When it comes to the broader impacts on policy, the main takeaways from the 115-page judgement are:</p>
<p><strong>1) the police mandates were unlawful</strong> </p>
<p>The police commissioner failed to give proper consideration to relevant human rights that would be affected by the mandates. Martin found it was “more likely than not that the commissioner did not consider the human rights ramifications” of the mandates.</p>
<p>This does not mean there was anything wrong with the mandates themselves – the problems lay in the process. </p>
<p><strong>2) the mandates affecting ambulance service workers were unlawful for a different reason</strong> </p>
<p>The director-general did not have the power to make the health mandates under employment and contract law. </p>
<p>The director-general claimed the employment contracts covering those who brought the case against the mandates contained an implied term that the director-general may give lawful and reasonable directions to employees. </p>
<p>However, the director-general did not provide sufficient evidence about the terms of the applicants’ employment contracts and therefore could not show the mandate was a reasonable direction.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tomorrows-covid-safety-guidelines-will-be-different-from-todays-but-that-doesnt-mean-yesterdays-were-wrong-179262">Tomorrow's COVID safety guidelines will be different from today's – but that doesn't mean yesterday's were wrong</a>
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<p><strong>3) only one human right was limited by the mandates</strong></p>
<p>Queensland has human rights legislation recognising, among other rights, a person’s right not to be subjected to medical treatment without full, free and informed consent (section 17(c) of the <a href="https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/pdf/inforce/current/act-2019-005">Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld)</a>). </p>
<p>Martin concluded the vaccine mandate limited this right, in the sense that the consent was not “free”. However, that limitation was “reasonable and demonstrably justified” (or proportionate), as required by the act, in the context of the pandemic. </p>
<p>We can read this as a conclusion that it was acceptable for policymakers to place limits on consent to vaccination in the face of other pressing considerations created by the pandemic. Policymakers had to <a href="https://jme.bmj.com/content/medethics/early/2022/04/26/medethics-2022-108229.full.pdf">weigh up</a> the risk of infection for their populations, including the risk of being infected by those providing essential services, and how best to keep their health and governance systems functioning, against the requirement that consent be full, free and informed.</p>
<p>In summary, the police commissioner failed to turn her mind to the human rights affected by her decision. The director-general made an oversight in failing to submit sufficient evidence to the court. But the requirement to consider human rights did not mean the mandates were unjustified.</p>
<h2>What does this mean for policymakers?</h2>
<p>There are lessons for policymakers in future pandemics: attention to detail is important when making and defending vaccine mandate policies. It is important to <a href="https://www.mja.com.au/system/files/issues/215_11/mja251269.pdf">consider</a> the people a vaccine mandate is going to affect directly. </p>
<p>The legal necessity to consider human rights in Queensland is only one example. Deep in the pandemic, the Fair Work Commission overturned a private-sector vaccine mandate imposed at a BHP site. The basis for this decision was that the mandate was not reasonable: BHP had <a href="https://www.landers.com.au/legal-insights-news/bhp-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-overturned">not sufficiently consulted</a> with affected workers as required under the Commonwealth <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2011A00137/2018-07-01/text">Work Health and Safety Act 2011</a>.</p>
<p>Considering and involving affected populations in the process is the right thing to do. It is also prudent for protecting vaccine mandates from legal challenges. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-youre-going-to-mandate-covid-vaccination-at-your-workplace-heres-how-to-do-it-ethically-166110">If you're going to mandate COVID vaccination at your workplace, here's how to do it ethically</a>
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<h2>Will we see more legal challenges to mandates?</h2>
<p>In future, a vaccine mandate may be challenged on a range of technical or legal bases, unrelated to the mandate’s substance or legitimacy. </p>
<p>Previous legal challenges to Australian state and territory vaccine mandates have largely been unsuccessful, particularly in the discrimination and industrial relations contexts.</p>
<p><a href="https://ecourts.justice.wa.gov.au/eCourtsPortal/Decisions/DownloadDecision?id=d05d28f1-ab59-430d-b825-f7add55e23f3">Two similar cases</a> brought by <a href="https://ecourts.justice.wa.gov.au/eCourtsPortal/Decisions/DownloadDecision?id=ea8d77d7-ddf1-4cd5-889d-bcbfd210c626">police officers</a> in Western Australia were unsuccessful (although both applicants have appealed). There is considerable breadth of powers and discretion afforded to the police commissioner by the <a href="https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au/legislation/prod/filestore.nsf/FileURL/mrdoc_44518.pdf/$FILE/POLICE%20ACT%201892%20-%20%5B14-m0-00%5D.pdf?OpenElement">Police Act 1892 (WA)</a>. This includes making directions to employees. </p>
<p>Only Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and Queensland have human rights legislation, so similar challenges may only be possible in those jurisdictions. </p>
<p>Previous plaintiffs tried to challenge New South Wales’ vaccine mandates on the basis that they infringed the common law right to bodily integrity. They <a href="https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/17c7d62628b9735ac213a597">failed</a>.</p>
<p>This week’s decision in Queensland is a landmark case, but probably not for the reasons vaccine mandate opponents hope. </p>
<p>It will be instructive for policymakers seeking to protect vaccine mandates from legal challenge in the future. The public will benefit when this prompts more careful consideration of affected populations when imposing vaccine mandates. </p>
<p>But the decision is unlikely to be be the death knell of workplace vaccine mandates.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224646/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amy Thomasson is part of the Mandate Evaluation (MandEval) project, which is partially funded by the Medical Research Future Fund.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katie Attwell receives institutional research funding from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) for the Mandate Evaluation (MandEval) project which she leads. She has previously received research funds paid to her institution from Australian Research Council and the Government of Western Australia. She is a special advisor to the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation.</span></em></p>Here’s what the court found – and what this means for future legal challenges to vaccine mandates across Australia.Amy Thomasson, Associate Lecturer of Law, The University of Western AustraliaKatie Attwell, Associate Professor, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2240422024-02-20T18:14:16Z2024-02-20T18:14:16ZAsí se defenderá Julian Assange para evitar su extradición a EE. UU.<p>El fundador de <a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/WikiLeaks">WikiLeaks</a> Julian Assange pedirá al Tribunal Superior de Inglaterra y Gales que anule una decisión de junio del año pasado que permitía al Reino Unido extraditarlo a Estados Unidos. Allí se enfrenta a múltiples cargos por uso indebido de ordenadores y espionaje derivados de su trabajo al frente de WikiLeaks, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/20/julian-assange">publicando documentos sensibles</a> del gobierno estadounidense facilitados por Chelsea Manning. </p>
<p>El gobierno estadounidense ha afirmado en repetidas ocasiones que las acciones de Assange <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jul/29/julian-assange-us-rejects-australias-calls-to-free-wikileaks-founder-during-ausmin-talks">ponían en peligro su seguridad nacional</a>.</p>
<p>Esta es la última vía de apelación en el Reino Unido, aunque Stella Assange, esposa de Julian, ha indicado que <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/julian-assanges-appeal-against-us-extradition-is-life-or-death-wife-says-2024-02-15/">acudirá</a> al Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos si pierde el recurso. </p>
<p>El Tribunal Europeo, una corte internacional que conoce de casos en virtud del Convenio Europeo de Derechos Humanos, puede dictar órdenes vinculantes para los Estados miembros del Convenio. Así, en 2022, una orden del TEDH <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jun/14/european-court-humam-right-makes-11th-hour-intervention-in-rwanda-asylum-seeker-plan">impidió al Reino Unido</a> enviar solicitantes de asilo a Ruanda a la espera de una revisión completa de la legislación pertinente.</p>
<p>El proceso de extradición de Assange lleva en marcha desde hace casi cinco años. A lo largo de tanto tiempo, es fácil perder la pista de la secuencia de acontecimientos que han conducido a esto. He aquí cómo hemos llegado hasta aquí, y lo que podría ocurrir a partir de ahora.</p>
<h2>Intento de extradición de años de duración</h2>
<p>Desde 2012 hasta mayo de 2019, Assange residió en la embajada de Ecuador en Londres tras quebrantar su libertad bajo fianza por cargos no relacionados. Mientras permaneció en la embajada, la policía no podía detenerlo sin el permiso del gobierno ecuatoriano. </p>
<p>En 2019, Ecuador permitió la detención de Assange. Entonces fue condenado por incumplir las condiciones de la fianza y encarcelado en la prisión de Belmarsh, donde ha permanecido durante el proceso de extradición. Poco después de su detención, Estados Unidos <a href="https://theconversation.com/assanges-new-indictment-espionage-and-the-first-amendment-117785">presentó cargos contra Assange</a> y solicitó al Reino Unido su extradición.</p>
<p>Assange impugnó inmediatamente la solicitud de extradición. Después de retrasos debidos a la covid-19, en enero de 2021, el Tribunal de Distrito decidió que la extradición <a href="https://theconversation.com/julian-assanges-extradition-victory-offers-cold-comfort-for-press-freedom-152676">era improcedente</a> porque sería “opresiva” para Assange. </p>
<p>El fallo se basó en las probables condiciones a las que se enfrentaría Assange en una prisión estadounidense y en el alto riesgo de que intentara suicidarse. El tribunal rechazó todos los demás argumentos contra la extradición.</p>
<p>El gobierno estadounidense recurrió la decisión del Tribunal de Distrito. Ofreció garantías sobre las condiciones de encarcelamiento de Assange para superar la conclusión de que la extradición sería opresiva. Esas garantías llevaron al Tribunal Superior <a href="https://www.iclr.co.uk/document/2021005727/casereport_3d8af061-9914-4a2d-bd2d-fa5260deeb2c/html">a anular la orden</a> contra la extradición. Después, el Tribunal Supremo (el más alto tribunal del Reino Unido) rechazó la petición de Assange de apelar esa sentencia. </p>
<p>La solicitud de extradición pasó entonces al ministro del Interior, que <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/jun/17/julian-assange-extradition-to-us-approved-by-priti-patel">la aprobó</a>. Assange recurrió esta decisión, que un único juez del <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/jun/09/julian-assange-dangerously-close-to-us-extradition-after-losing-latest-legal-appeal">Tribunal Superior rechazó</a> en junio de 2023. </p>
<p>El presente recurso se dirige contra esa última resolución y será examinado por un tribunal de dos jueces. Estos magistrados sólo decidirán si Assange tiene motivos para apelar. Si deciden a su favor, el tribunal programará una vista completa sobre el fondo del recurso, que tendría como consecuencia un mayor retraso en la resolución de su caso.</p>
<h2>Creciente apoyo político</h2>
<p>Paralelamente a los desafíos legales, los partidarios de Assange han liderado una campaña política para detener el procesamiento y la extradición. Uno de los objetivos de la campaña ha sido persuadir al gobierno australiano para que defienda el caso de Assange (Townsville, Australia, 1971), ante el gobierno estadounidense. </p>
<p>El apoyo de parlamentarios australianos no ha dejado de crecer, liderado por el diputado independiente Andrew Wilkie. En los últimos dos años, el gobierno, incluidos el ministro de Asuntos Exteriores y el primer ministro, han hecho declaraciones firmes y claras en el sentido de que <a href="https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australianoutlook/julian-assange-the-state-of-play-at-the-end-of-2023/">la persecución debe terminar</a>. </p>
<p>El 14 de febrero, Wilkie propuso una <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Hansard/Hansard_Display?bid=chamber/hansardr/27604/&sid=0001">moción</a> en apoyo de Assange, secundada por el diputado laborista Josh Wilson. Se pidió a la cámara que “subrayara la importancia de que el Reino Unido y Estados Unidos pongan fin al asunto para que Assange pueda regresar a casa con su familia en Australia”. Fue aprobada.</p>
<h2>¿Qué argumentará el equipo de Assange?</h2>
<p>Para la apelación ante el Tribunal Supremo, se espera que el equipo legal de Assange argumente una vez más que la extradición sería opresiva y que las garantías estadounidenses son inadecuadas. </p>
<p>Una reciente <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/02/un-special-rapporteur-torture-urges-uk-government-halt-imminent-extradition">declaración</a> de Alice Edwards, relatora especial de las Naciones Unidas sobre la Tortura, apoya su argumento de que la extradición podría dar lugar a un trato “equivalente a la tortura u otras formas de malos tratos o penas”. Edwards ha rechazado la idoneidad de las garantías estadounidenses, afirmando:</p>
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<p>No son jurídicamente vinculantes, tienen un alcance limitado y la persona a la que pretenden proteger puede no tener ningún recurso si se violan.</p>
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<p>El argumento de que la extradición sería opresiva sigue siendo el motivo de apelación más sólido. Sin embargo, es probable que los abogados de Assange también repitan algunos de los argumentos que no tuvieron éxito en los procedimientos del Tribunal de Distrito. </p>
<p>Un argumento es que los cargos contra Assange, en particular los cargos de espionaje, son delitos políticos. El tratado de extradición entre Estados Unidos y el Reino Unido no permite a ninguno de los dos Estados extraditar por este tipo de delitos. </p>
<p>También es probable que Assange reedite el argumento de que sus filtraciones de documentos clasificados fueron ejercicios de su derecho a la libertad de expresión en virtud del Convenio Europeo de Derechos Humanos. Hasta la fecha, el Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos nunca ha dictaminado que una solicitud de extradición viole la libertad de expresión. Que el Alto Tribunal lo hiciera sería una sentencia innovadora. </p>
<p>Es posible que el Alto Tribunal no dicte sentencia inmediatamente. Sea cual sea la decisión, los partidarios de Assange continuarán su campaña política, apoyada por el gobierno australiano, para detener la persecución.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224042/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Holly Cullen ha sido voluntaria del Partido Laborista Australiano, entre otros para el diputado Josh Wilson.</span></em></p>Los esfuerzos para extraditar al fundador de Wikileaks, el australiano Julian Assange, del Reino Unido a Estados Unidos se han prolongado durante años. Esto es lo que ha pasado y lo que podría pasar esta vez en los tribunales.Holly Cullen, Adjunct professor, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2212172024-02-19T19:05:01Z2024-02-19T19:05:01ZAfter years of avoiding extradition, Julian Assange’s appeal is likely his last chance. Here’s how it might unfold (and how we got here)<p>On February 20 and 21, Julian Assange will ask the High Court of England and Wales to reverse a decision from June last year allowing the United Kingdom to extradite him to the United States. </p>
<p>There he faces multiple counts of computer misuse and espionage stemming from his work with WikiLeaks, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/20/julian-assange">publishing sensitive</a> US government documents provided by Chelsea Manning. The US government has repeatedly claimed that Assange’s actions <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jul/29/julian-assange-us-rejects-australias-calls-to-free-wikileaks-founder-during-ausmin-talks">risked its national security</a>.</p>
<p>This is the final avenue of appeal in the UK, although Stella Assange, Julian’s wife, has indicated he would <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/julian-assanges-appeal-against-us-extradition-is-life-or-death-wife-says-2024-02-15/">seek an order</a> from the European Court of Human Rights if he loses the application for appeal. The European Court, an international court that hears cases under the European Convention on Human Rights, can issue orders that are binding on convention member states. In 2022, an order from the court <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jun/14/european-court-humam-right-makes-11th-hour-intervention-in-rwanda-asylum-seeker-plan">stopped the UK</a> sending asylum seekers to Rwanda pending a full review of the relevant legislation.</p>
<p>The extradition process has been running for nearly five years. Over such a long time, it’s easy to lose track of the sequence of events that led to this. Here’s how we got here, and what might happen next.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-australias-bid-for-julian-assanges-freedom-presents-formidable-problems-for-joe-biden-213152">View from The Hill: Australia's bid for Julian Assange's freedom presents formidable problems for Joe Biden</a>
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<h2>Years-long extradition attempt</h2>
<p>From 2012 until May 2019, Assange resided in the Ecuadorian embassy in London after breaching bail on unrelated allegations. While he remained in the embassy, the police could not arrest him without the permission of the Ecuadorian government. </p>
<p>In 2019, Ecuador allowed Assange’s arrest. He was then convicted of breaching bail conditions, and imprisoned in Belmarsh Prison, where he’s remained during the extradition proceedings. Shortly after his arrest, the United States <a href="https://theconversation.com/assanges-new-indictment-espionage-and-the-first-amendment-117785">laid charges against Assange</a> and requested his extradition from the United Kingdom.</p>
<p>Assange immediately challenged the extradition request. After delays due to COVID, in January 2021, the District Court decided the extradition <a href="https://theconversation.com/julian-assanges-extradition-victory-offers-cold-comfort-for-press-freedom-152676">could not proceed</a> because it would be “oppressive” to Assange. </p>
<p>The ruling was based on the likely conditions that Assange would face in an American prison and the high risk that he would attempt suicide. The court rejected all other arguments against extradition.</p>
<p>The American government appealed the District Court decision. It provided assurances on prison conditions for Assange to overcome the finding that the extradition would be oppressive. Those assurances led to the High Court <a href="https://www.iclr.co.uk/document/2021005727/casereport_3d8af061-9914-4a2d-bd2d-fa5260deeb2c/html">overturning the order</a> stopping extradition. Then the Supreme Court (the UK’s top court) refused Assange’s request to appeal that ruling. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-rocky-diplomatic-road-julian-assanges-hopes-of-avoiding-extradition-take-a-blow-as-us-pushes-back-210806">A rocky diplomatic road: Julian Assange's hopes of avoiding extradition take a blow as US pushes back</a>
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<p>The extradition request then passed to the home secretary, who <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/jun/17/julian-assange-extradition-to-us-approved-by-priti-patel">approved it</a>. Assange appealed the home secretary’s decision, which a single judge of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/jun/09/julian-assange-dangerously-close-to-us-extradition-after-losing-latest-legal-appeal">High Court rejected</a> in June 2023. </p>
<p>This appeal is against that most recent ruling and will be heard by a two-judge bench. These judges will only decide whether Assange has grounds for appeal. If they decide in his favour, the court will schedule a full hearing of the merits of the appeal. That hearing would come at the cost of further delay in the resolution of his case.</p>
<h2>Growing political support</h2>
<p>Parallel to the legal challenges, Assange’s supporters have led a political campaign to stop the prosecution and the extradition. One goal of the campaign has been to persuade the Australian government to argue Assange’s case with the American government. </p>
<p>Cross-party support from individual parliamentarians has steadily grown, led by independent MP Andrew Wilkie. Over the past two years, the government, including the foreign minister and the prime minister, have made stronger and clearer statements that the <a href="https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/australianoutlook/julian-assange-the-state-of-play-at-the-end-of-2023/">prosecution should end</a>. </p>
<p>On February 14, Wilkie proposed a <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Hansard/Hansard_Display?bid=chamber/hansardr/27604/&sid=0001">motion</a> in support of Assange, seconded by Labor MP Josh Wilson. The house was asked to “underline the importance of the UK and USA bringing the matter to a close so that Mr Assange can return home to his family in Australia.” It was passed.</p>
<p>In addition, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/feb/14/australian-mps-pass-motion-urging-us-and-uk-to-allow-julian-assange-to-return-to-australia">confirmed</a> he had recently raised the Assange prosecution with his American counterpart, who has the authority to end it.</p>
<h2>What will Assange’s team argue?</h2>
<p>For the High Court appeal, it is expected Assange’s legal team will once again argue the extradition would be oppressive and that the American assurances are inadequate. A recent <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/02/un-special-rapporteur-torture-urges-uk-government-halt-imminent-extradition">statement</a> by Alice Edwards, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, supports their argument that extradition could lead to treatment “amounting to torture or other forms of ill-treatment or punishment”. She rejected the adequacy of American assurances, saying:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>They are not legally binding, are limited in their scope, and the person the assurances aim to protect may have no recourse if they are violated.</p>
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<p>The argument that extradition would be oppressive remains the strongest ground for appeal. However, it is likely Assange’s lawyers will also repeat some of the arguments which were unsuccessful in the District Court proceedings. </p>
<p>One argument is that the charges against Assange, particularly the espionage charges, are political offences. The United States–United Kingdom extradition treaty does not allow either state to extradite for political offences. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-charges-does-julian-assange-face-and-whats-likely-to-happen-next-115362">Explainer: what charges does Julian Assange face, and what's likely to happen next?</a>
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<p>Assange is also likely to re-run the argument that his leaks of classified documents were exercises of his right to freedom of expression under the European Convention on Human Rights. To date, the European Court of Human Rights has never found that an extradition request violates freedom of expression. For the High Court to do so would be an innovative ruling. </p>
<p>The High Court will hear two days of legal argument and might not give its judgement immediately, but it will probably be delivered soon after the hearing. Whatever the decision, Assange’s supporters will continue their political campaign, supported by the Australian government, to stop the prosecution. </p>
<p><em>Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated Julian Assange lived in the Ecuadorian embassy after breaching bail on unrelated charges. He had not been charged with any offences and was instead wanted for questioning in Sweden over sexual assault allegations. The Swedish investigation has since been dropped with no charges laid.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221217/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Holly Cullen has been a volunteer for the Australian Labor Party, including for Josh Wilson, MP.</span></em></p>Efforts to extradite Wikileaks founder Julian Assange from the UK to the US have gone on for years. Here’s what’s been going on and what might happen in court this time.Holly Cullen, Adjunct professor, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2237292024-02-19T02:50:03Z2024-02-19T02:50:03ZAsbestos in mulch? Here’s the risk if you’ve been exposed<p>Mulch containing asbestos has now been found at <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2024/epamedia240219-asbestos-investigation-updates">41 locations</a> in New South Wales, including Sydney parks, <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2024/epamedia240211-asbestos-mulch-found-at-liverpool-west-public-school">schools</a>, <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2024/epamedia240216-epa-to-conduct-priority-testing-at-sydney-schools">hospitals</a>, a <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2024/epamedia240219-asbestos-investigation-updates">supermarket</a> and at least <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/testing-for-asbestos-tainted-mulch-across-sydney-set-to-begin/0d6wo7hx6">one regional site</a>. Tests are under way at <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2024/epamedia240219-asbestos-investigation-updates">other sites</a>. </p>
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<p>As a precautionary measure, some parks have been <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/sydney-parks-cordoned-off-mardi-gras-event-cancelled-after-asbestos-concerns-2024-02-15/#:%7E:text=SYDNEY%2C%20Feb%2016%20(Reuters),toxic%20material%20from%20public%20spaces.">cordoned off</a> and some schools have <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2024/epamedia240219-asbestos-investigation-updates">closed</a> temporarily. Fair Day – a large public event that traditionally marks the start of Mardi Gras – <a href="https://whatson.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/events/fair-day">was cancelled</a> after contaminated mulch was found at the site.</p>
<p>The New South Wales government has announced a new <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2024/epamedia240215-new-asbestos-taskforce-to-support-investigation-into-mulch">taskforce</a> to help investigate how the asbestos ended up in the mulch.</p>
<p>Here’s what we know about the risk to public health of mulch contaminated with asbestos, including “friable” asbestos, which <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/feb/14/nsw-opposition-calls-for-central-register-of-sites-under-investigation-amid-asbestos-crisis#:%7E:text=The%20City%20of%20Sydney%20announced%20on%20Tuesday%20that%20friable%20asbestos,been%20found%20at%20Regatta%20Park.">has been found</a> in one <a href="https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/news/media-releases/2024/epamedia240216-epa-to-conduct-priority-testing-at-sydney-schools">site</a> (<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/asbestos-found-in-multiple-sydney-parks-20240213-p5f4ep.html">Harmony Park</a> in Surry Hills). </p>
<h2>What are the health risks of asbestos?</h2>
<p>Asbestos is a naturally occurring, heat-resistant fibre that was widely used in building materials from the <a href="https://www.cancer.org.au/cancer-information/causes-and-prevention/workplace-cancer/asbestos">1940s to the 1980s</a>. It can be found in either a <a href="https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/safety-topic/hazards/asbestos/overview">bonded or friable</a> form. </p>
<p>Bonded asbestos means the fibres are bound in a cement matrix. Asbestos sheeting that was used for walls, fences, roofs and eaves are examples of bonded asbestos. The fibres don’t escape this matrix unless the product is severely damaged or worn. </p>
<p>A lot of asbestos fragments from broken asbestos products are still considered bonded as the fibres are not released as they lay on the ground.</p>
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<img alt="Bonded asbestos" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576359/original/file-20240219-16-54tww8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576359/original/file-20240219-16-54tww8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=322&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576359/original/file-20240219-16-54tww8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=322&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576359/original/file-20240219-16-54tww8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=322&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576359/original/file-20240219-16-54tww8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576359/original/file-20240219-16-54tww8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576359/original/file-20240219-16-54tww8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Asbestos sheeting was used for walls and roofs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://theconversation.com/diy-renovators-now-most-at-risk-of-asbestos-cancers-3206">Tomas Regina/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Friable asbestos, in contrast, can be easily crumbled by touch. It will include raw asbestos fibres and previously bonded products that have worn to the point that they crumble easily.</p>
<p>The risk of disease from asbestos exposure is due to the <a href="https://www.asbestossafety.gov.au/asbestos-health-risks-and-exposure/asbestos-health-risks">inhalation of fibres</a>. It doesn’t matter if those fibres are from friable or bonded sources. </p>
<p>However, fibres can more easily become airborne, and therefore inhalable, if the asbestos is friable. This means there is more of a risk of exposure if you are disturbing friable asbestos than if you disturb fragments of bonded asbestos.</p>
<h2>Who is most at risk from asbestos exposure?</h2>
<p>The most important factor for disease risk is exposure – you actually have to inhale fibres to be at risk of disease. </p>
<p>Just being in the vicinity of asbestos, or material containing asbestos, does not put you at risk of asbestos-related disease. </p>
<p>For those who accessed the contaminated areas, the level of exposure will depend on disturbing the asbestos and how many fibres become airborne due to that disturbance. </p>
<p>However, if you have been exposed to, and inhaled, asbestos fibres it does not mean you will get an asbestos-related disease. Exposure levels from the sites across Sydney will be low and the chance of disease is highly unlikely.</p>
<p>The evidence for disease risk from ingestion remains <a href="https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/350932/WHO-HEP-ECH-WSH-2021.4-eng.pdf">highly uncertain</a>, although you are not likely to ingest sufficient fibres from the air, or even the hand to mouth activities that may occur with playing in contaminated mulch, for this to be a concern.</p>
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<p>The risk of disease from exposure depends on the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1445-5994.2011.02451.x">intensity, frequency and duration of that exposure</a>. That is, the more you are exposed to asbestos, the greater the risk of disease. </p>
<p>Most asbestos-related disease has occurred in people who work with raw asbestos (for example, asbestos miners) or asbestos-containing products (such as building tradespeople). This has been a tragedy and fortunately asbestos is now banned. </p>
<p>There have been cases of asbestos-related disease, most notably mesothelioma – a cancer of the lining of the lung (mostly) or peritoneum – from non-occupational exposures. This has included people who have undertaken DIY home renovations and may have only had <a href="https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2011/195/5/increasing-incidence-malignant-mesothelioma-after-exposure-asbestos-during-home">short-term exposures</a>. The level of exposure in these cases is not known and it is also impossible to determine if those activities have been the only exposure. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/diy-renovators-now-most-at-risk-of-asbestos-cancers-3206">DIY renovators now most at risk of asbestos cancers</a>
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<p>There is no <em>known</em> safe level of exposure – but this <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1445-5994.2011.02451.x">does not mean that one fibre will kill</a>. Asbestos needs to be treated with caution.</p>
<p>As far as we are aware, there have been no cases of mesothelioma, or other asbestos-related disease, that have been caused by <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/resp.14648">exposure from contaminated soils or mulch</a>.</p>
<h2>Has asbestos been found in mulch before?</h2>
<p>Asbestos contamination of mulch is, unfortunately, <a href="https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/wa/asbestos-mulch-fears-in-perth-southern-suburb-aubin-grove-ng-1b39c602956a6588f35f42b90be75e40">not new</a>. Environmental and health agencies have dealt with these situations in the past. All jurisdictions have strict regulations about removing asbestos products from the green waste stream but, as is happening in Sydney now, this does not always happen. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Mulch" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576363/original/file-20240219-30-nbwq6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576363/original/file-20240219-30-nbwq6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576363/original/file-20240219-30-nbwq6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576363/original/file-20240219-30-nbwq6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576363/original/file-20240219-30-nbwq6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576363/original/file-20240219-30-nbwq6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576363/original/file-20240219-30-nbwq6k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Mulch contamination is not new.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/barking-mulch-617198870">gibleho/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What if I’ve been near contaminated mulch?</h2>
<p>Exposure from mulch contamination is generally much lower than from current renovation or construction activities and will be many orders of magnitude lower than past occupational exposures. </p>
<p>Unlike activities such as demolition, construction and mining, the generation of airborne fibres from asbestos fragments in mulch will be very low. The asbestos contamination will be sparsely spread throughout the mulch and it is unlikely there will be sufficient disturbance to generate large quantities of airborne fibres. </p>
<p>Despite the low chance of exposure, if you’re near contaminated mulch, do not disturb it. </p>
<p>If, by chance, you have had an exposure, or think you have had an exposure, it’s highly unlikely you will develop an asbestos-related disease in the future. If you’re worried, the <a href="https://www.asbestossafety.gov.au/asbestos-home">Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency</a> is a good source of information.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/asbestos-still-haunts-those-exposed-as-kids-in-mining-towns-9487">Asbestos still haunts those exposed as kids in mining towns</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223729/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Franklin is on the board of Reflections, a not-for-profit organisation for the asbestos awareness and support of people with asbestos-related disease. </span></em></p>The most important factor for disease risk is exposure – you actually have to inhale asbestos fibres to be at risk of disease. But asbestos needs to be treated with caution.Peter Franklin, Associate Professor and Director, Occupational Respiratory Epidemiology, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2223892024-02-15T23:47:21Z2024-02-15T23:47:21ZIndigenous fathers help build stronger communities. Here’s how we can better support them<p>When approaching how to support the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families, there is a tendency in favour of strengthening and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/1557988317735928?src=getftr">empowering mothers</a>, rather than fathers. </p>
<p>While this emphasis on maternal support is undoubtedly justified (in fact, there probably needs to be more supports that are culturally appropriate), it raises the question of why specialist assistance is not similarly prioritised for fathers. </p>
<p>For instance, within what is arguably the core Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander policy in Australia, <a href="https://www.closingthegap.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/national-agreement-ctg.pdf">Closing the Gap</a>, there is no mention of initiatives specifically for Indigenous fathers or men more broadly. </p>
<p>We analysed data from around 150 First Nations fathers about the support they needed. Here’s what they had to say. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/emu-men-a-new-way-to-recognise-and-celebrate-indigenous-fathers-211741">'Emu Men': a new way to recognise and celebrate Indigenous fathers</a>
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</em>
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<hr>
<h2>Doing away with negative stereotypes</h2>
<p>Western society can portray some groups of fathers in a <a href="https://theconversation.com/like-father-like-son-new-research-shows-how-young-men-copy-their-fathers-masculinity-203834">less favourable light</a> and offer limited support. </p>
<p>In Australia, there has been a particularly cruel characterisation of Indigenous fathers as deviant, distant, and/or drunkards. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/BI33JgljItB","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>These harmful characterisations were reflected in a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-04/cartoon-an-attack-on-aboriginal-people,-indigenous-leader-says/7689248">2016 cartoon</a> by Bill Leak of an Aboriginal man unable to recall the name of his son. </p>
<p>These representations are not true of many Indigenous fathers. They are often disciplined, devoted and sober, and want to be positive role models for their children. A great example of this is in the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-06/indigenous-dads-counter-bill-leak-cartoon-with-stories/7697668">social media movement</a> that sprung up in the wake of the cartoon, called #IndigenousDads. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-studied-100-years-of-australian-fatherhood-heres-how-todays-dads-differ-from-their-grandfathers-166348">We studied 100 years of Australian fatherhood. Here's how today's dads differ from their grandfathers</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In light of this social climate, we wanted to know what Indigenous fathers need in order to enhance their experience of fatherhood. We drew the responses from data of 149 Indigenous fathers from the <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/about-the-department/longitudinal-studies/footprints-in-time-lsic-longitudinal-study-of-indigenous-children">Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (LSIC)</a>, a large Australian dataset administered by the Commonwealth Department of Social Services. That study asked them “if you could have something to make it easier to raise your child, what would it be?”. We analysed the results. </p>
<h2>More support needed</h2>
<p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ajs4.313">Our research</a> found more than 60% of Indigenous dads surveyed indicated needing further support. </p>
<p>There were several areas that came up most frequently. These were finances, social services, housing, and the ability to spend more time with their children. </p>
<p>Of the ten themes we observed across the comments from Indigenous fathers in response to this question, nearly all were related to socioeconomic and cultural factors. One of the fathers expressed frustration at the lack of available social services, wanting more support in general. Another father shared how finances affected his role, saying:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I would like to have a decent paying job; I had to stop working to help and care for my children and partner.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Other fathers mentioned wanting housing that was appropriately sized to accommodate a family, and not wanting to rent. Additionally, fathers wished they had the ability to invest more time in engaging in activities with their children. </p>
<p>Collectively, these desires are reflective of men striving to be involved and <a href="https://theconversation.com/emu-men-a-new-way-to-recognise-and-celebrate-indigenous-fathers-211741">nurturing fathers</a>, not deviant or distant, as illustrated in harsh stereotypes. This is highlighted in their courage in openly asking for help. </p>
<h2>What needs to be done?</h2>
<p>Our research shows policies about and for Indigenous men and fathers need to directly address the areas in which they’ve expressed the most need. This includes looking at their <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-health/social-determinants-of-health">social determinants of health</a>. This means examining the social and economic circumstances that can affect a person’s life, from their housing situation through to feeling included in society.</p>
<p>As we mentioned earlier, the <a href="https://www.closingthegap.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/national-agreement-ctg.pdf">Closing the Gap</a> strategy does not presently do this. It is important for this policy, and other relevant government strategies, to target these areas and concerns specifically. </p>
<p>Further, urgent attention is needed for greater research funding to support Indigenous dads and men more broadly. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1326020023000080?via%3Dihub">One study</a> shows the minimal amount of Indigenous-specific research funding awarded by Australia’s two central funding bodies. The Australian Research Council (ARC) has provided 1.46%, and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has given a concerning 0.29%. There is a pressing need for additional investigation into how best to support Indigenous fathers and Indigenous men. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/young-dads-are-painted-as-feckless-or-absent-but-theyre-working-to-change-perceptions-220555">Young dads are painted as feckless or absent – but they're working to change perceptions</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Giving Indigenous fathers the support they need is crucial in reducing the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-018-6093-2">well-documented</a> challenges experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men. There are also positive flow-on effects to others, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29025357/">as found</a> by researchers Lyndon Reilly and Susan Rees:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>If you have strong Indigenous fathers, you will have strong Indigenous families. By having strong Indigenous families, you will have strong Indigenous communities.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As of 2021, Indigenous children are more than <a href="https://www.indigenoushpf.gov.au/measures/2-12-child-protection">ten times</a> more likely to be on a care or protection order than non-Indigenous children. Strengthening the role of Indigenous fathers not only makes financial sense for governments, but also contributes to Indigenous family and community wellbeing, reducing care and protection orders for Indigenous children. </p>
<p>We need to listen to First Nations fathers. If we do, we can deliver services that play to their strengths, rather than seeking to address perceived deficiencies.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222389/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kootsy Canuto receives funding from National Health and Medical Research Council APP1175214 & MRFF APP2006564. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leonard Collard has previously received funding from organisations such as the Australian Research Council, state and federal as well as other funding bodies. Dr Collard is a member of the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Huw Thomas Peacock, Jacob Prehn, Michael A. Guerzoni, and Mick Adams do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>First Nations fathers are too often the subject of negative, often untrue stereotypes. We analysed data from around 150 dads about what they needed. Here’s what they said.Jacob Prehn, Associate Dean Indigenous College of Arts, Law, and Education; Senior Lecturer, Social Work, University of TasmaniaHuw Thomas Peacock, Research assistant , University of TasmaniaKootsy Canuto, Associate Professor in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Male Health & Wellbeing, Flinders UniversityLeonard Collard, Professor Emeritus in Aboriginal Studies, The University of Western AustraliaMichael A. Guerzoni, Lecturer in Criminology | School of Social Sciences, University of TasmaniaMick Adams, Senior Research Fellow, Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet , Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2226102024-02-14T23:50:02Z2024-02-14T23:50:02ZAustralia’s shot-hole borer beetle invasion has begun, but we don’t need to chop down every tree under attack<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574604/original/file-20240209-18-7stpt1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=46%2C0%2C6183%2C4147&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/shotgunlike-lesions-on-tree-bark-trunk-1754480912">jgeyser, Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A <a href="https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/borer">new pest attacking Perth’s trees</a> threatens to <a href="https://www.outbreak.gov.au/current-outbreaks/polyphagous-shot-hole-borer">spread across Australia</a>, damaging crops and native forests as well as our urban forest. To control its spread, the Western Australian government is <a href="https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/absolutely-devastating-a-tiny-exotic-beetle-will-see-180-of-hyde-park-s-trees-cut-down-20240130-p5f16n.html">chopping down hundreds of established trees</a>. But these losses may be in vain. </p>
<p>Originally from southeast Asia, the polyphagous (meaning “many-eating”) shot-hole borer has <a href="https://doi.org/10.1079/cabicompendium.18360453">invaded several countries</a>. It attacks <a href="https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/sites/gateway/files/PSHB-WA-Host-List.pdf">more than 400 tree species</a>, including <a href="https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/sites/gateway/files/PSHB-Global-Host-List.pdf">crops</a> such as apple, avocado, macadamia and mango. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2021.654702">Trees grown for timber</a>, such as ash, elms and oaks are not safe either. And with every new country it invades, it threatens an increasingly large number of native trees.</p>
<p>Australia plans to <a href="https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/absolutely-devastating-a-tiny-exotic-beetle-will-see-180-of-hyde-park-s-trees-cut-down-20240130-p5f16n.html">eradicate this pest using one method: felling established trees</a>. But the borer has been eradicated only once – in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-022-02929-w">isolated tropical glasshouses in frosty Europe</a> – demonstrating the difficulty of eradication from larger agricultural and natural ecosystems.</p>
<p>To achieve this worthy but difficult goal, everyone will need to work together. We need a wide range of experts to fully evaluate all available control methods, and consider the most appropriate time frame for eradication. Understanding the impacts of both the pest and its management will ensure we get the best possible outcomes in both the short and long term.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1744269134043464069"}"></div></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/trees-in-south-africa-are-under-attack-why-its-proving-hard-to-manage-130804">Trees in South Africa are under attack. Why it's proving hard to manage</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The nature of the beast(s)</h2>
<p>The borer probably arrived in Australia as a stowaway with <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-30/shot-hole-borer-attacks-hyde-park-trees/103406280">untreated wood</a> and remained undetected until August 2021, when a <a href="https://www.wa.gov.au/government/announcements/fremantle-residents-asked-look-exotic-insect-borer">concerned resident of East Fremantle</a> noticed unusual holes in her backyard maple trees. Now <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-30/shot-hole-borer-attacks-hyde-park-trees/103406280">more than 80 suburbs</a> in 25 councils are affected. Fortunately, the pest has not yet been detected outside the Perth metropolitan area.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575134/original/file-20240212-24-1b1k45.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A map of Perth and the Polyphagous shot-hole borer quarantine area" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575134/original/file-20240212-24-1b1k45.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575134/original/file-20240212-24-1b1k45.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575134/original/file-20240212-24-1b1k45.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575134/original/file-20240212-24-1b1k45.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575134/original/file-20240212-24-1b1k45.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575134/original/file-20240212-24-1b1k45.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575134/original/file-20240212-24-1b1k45.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1066&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The pest borer quarantine area covers 25 local government areas in Perth.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/borer">Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The borer attacks so many tree species because it has an accomplice, in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fgb.2013.04.004">form of a fungus</a>. The two live in a mutually dependent “symbiotic” relationship. </p>
<p>The borer creates a Swiss cheese-like matrix of tunnels through the wood. The fungus feeds on the wood lining the tunnels as it grows, and the borer eats the fungus. </p>
<p>The tunnels weaken the structure of the wood, but tree death occurs when the fungus invades and blocks the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-48809-8">flow of water and sap between roots and leaves</a>.</p>
<p>The borer’s small size likely limits its natural rate of spread, however we <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/afe.12321">don’t know how far it can fly</a>. There is a risk of human-assisted spread over long distances as the borer can survive in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvaa103">small pieces of wood for weeks</a>. To make matters worse, a single female borer can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/afe.12155">produce offspring without a mate</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574813/original/file-20240211-22-c36zto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Six development stages of the shot hole borer, arranged in a circle to show the life cycle, on a white background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574813/original/file-20240211-22-c36zto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574813/original/file-20240211-22-c36zto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574813/original/file-20240211-22-c36zto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574813/original/file-20240211-22-c36zto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574813/original/file-20240211-22-c36zto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574813/original/file-20240211-22-c36zto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574813/original/file-20240211-22-c36zto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=704&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The life cycle of the polyphagous shot-hole borer, also known as the Asian ambrosia beetle (<em>Euwallacea fornicatus</em>)</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/development-stages-asian-ambrosia-beetle-euwallacea-513402742">Protasov AN, Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Responding to the threat in Australia</h2>
<p>The threat to Australia can be estimated from the experience in other invaded locations. As in Perth, the invasion usually begins in cities, then spreads into the surrounding countryside, attacking horticulture and forests, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12600-012-0223-7">avocado production in Israel</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-03-12-0276-PDN">California</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s13314-023-00524-z">stone fruit in South Africa</a>. This overseas experience has informed models of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/afe.12566">potential impacts for WA</a>.</p>
<p>But local effects are hard to predict. Figs and eucalypts not susceptible in <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2021.654702">California and Israel</a>, yet <a href="https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/sites/gateway/files/PSHB-WA-Host-List.pdf">figs are preferred and some eucalypts are susceptible in WA</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.outbreak.gov.au/current-outbreaks/polyphagous-shot-hole-borer">national biosecurity response led by WA</a> has allocated A$41 million to eradicate the borer. This funding was based on an assessment of what it should cost. But there is only a short window of opportunity to effectively deploy these resources to achieve eradication.</p>
<p>The response includes trapping and surveillance to determine the spread of the pest. More than <a href="https://www.wa.gov.au/government/media-statements/Cook-Labor-Government/Vital-biosecurity-response-to-stop-invasive-beetle-pest-20240130">1.5 million trees on more than 50,000 properties</a> have been inspected and some 3,000 traps laid. </p>
<p>These traps catch flying beetles, which fly just once in their lives, so there’s a low catch probability. This makes it hard to detect false negatives, when no beetles are trapped but there are beetles in the area. This can be improved with alternative <a href="https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3656">trap designs</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0179416">chemical lures</a>.</p>
<p>When infested trees are found in WA, the response is “<a href="https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/borer">removing infested trees to save healthy trees</a>”. This could mean hundreds of trees at popular public locations such as <a href="https://www.wa.gov.au/government/media-statements/Cook-Labor-Government/Vital-biosecurity-response-to-stop-invasive-beetle-pest-20240130">Perth Zoo, Lake Claremont, Kings Park and Hyde Park</a> will be felled and chipped.</p>
<p>Continuing with the one control method, felling trees, will leave us with fewer trees, particularly if the eradication campaign runs for many years. Reduction of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/does-higher-density-city-development-leave-urban-forests-out-on-a-limb-57106">urban tree canopy</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/fewer-trees-leave-the-outer-suburbs-out-in-the-heat-33299">could be profound</a>, and <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-18/perth-tree-canopy-conference/101980438">Perth already has the sparsest urban tree canopy in the nation</a>. </p>
<p>The flow-on consequences could mean even <a href="https://theconversation.com/trees-are-a-citys-air-conditioners-so-why-are-we-pulling-them-out-21890">higher urban temperatures</a> and poorer <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.603757">human</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2012.09.066">health</a>. </p>
<p>Urban trees are also valued for their beauty, shade and habitat for animals. All these benefits can be assigned a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2017.11.017">significant monetary value, which would be even higher</a> if intrinsic or cultural value could be included.</p>
<h2>Waging war on the shot-hole borer</h2>
<p>Although felling and chipping entire trees is necessary, there are <a href="https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74179.html">other effective control methods</a>. Alternatives may include removing and chipping <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12600-017-0598-6">infested branches only</a>, which may be more <a href="http://doi.org/10.3389/finsc.2023.1279547">cost-effective than felling entire trees</a>, to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2020.105136">injecting at-risk but uninfested trees</a>, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-10-17-1569-RE">slowing</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toy423">infestations in trees</a> or spraying <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/biom13040656">repellents onto uninfested trees</a>. In California, traps were developed into an <a href="https://www.californiaavocadogrowers.com/sites/default/files/Trapping-Optimization-and-Development-of-attract-and-kill-strategy-for-the-Polyphagous-Shot-Hole-Borer-in-avocado.pdf">attract-and-kill strategy</a> to tackle the borer in avocado orchards.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574807/original/file-20240211-29-aulz4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Polyphagous shot-hole borer trap set by the OC Parks Department and the University of California, in Irvine Regional Park. The large, multi-tiered black trap with a white collection vessel at the bottom is hanging from a metal pole." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574807/original/file-20240211-29-aulz4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574807/original/file-20240211-29-aulz4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=898&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574807/original/file-20240211-29-aulz4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=898&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574807/original/file-20240211-29-aulz4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=898&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574807/original/file-20240211-29-aulz4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1129&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574807/original/file-20240211-29-aulz4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1129&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574807/original/file-20240211-29-aulz4s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1129&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The best trap for the borer, developed in California, is not being used in Perth.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/orange-california-24-feb-2017-polyphagous-1938882280">Steve Cukrov, Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While a rapid response is crucial for eradication, we need to keep improving on this, using the most effective methods available. Relevant solutions from around the world suggest <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-024-01744-7">broader community engagement</a>, beyond Perth, would be beneficial.</p>
<p>It is unclear what has been learned so far from efforts in WA. Is it still <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-013-0529-5">feasible to eradicate the pest completely</a>? We need more experts to evaluate and advise on the response as it continues.</p>
<p>Making the right response choices will be crucial. Just consider other threatening invaders such as the <a href="https://www.outbreak.gov.au/current-outbreaks/red-imported-fire-ant">red imported</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-know-if-were-winning-the-war-on-australias-fire-ant-invasion-and-what-to-do-if-we-arent-121367">fire ant</a>, the honey bee <a href="https://www.outbreak.gov.au/current-outbreaks/varroa-mite">varroa</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-has-officially-given-up-on-eradicating-the-varroa-mite-now-what-214002">mite</a>, and <a href="https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/invasive-species/diseases-fungi-and-parasites/myrtle-rust">myrtle</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/myrtle-rust-is-devastating-australian-forests-a-new-high-tech-spray-holds-out-hope-for-native-trees-219411">rust</a>.</p>
<p>As the borer has only been detected in Perth, the window of opportunity is open now. Let’s make sure we have the best plan of attack so we can achieve eradication. </p>
<p>Australians pride themselves on working together to get things done. If we can bring everyone together to rapidly tackle this insect invasion, the whole nation will benefit.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/citizen-scientists-collect-more-nature-data-than-ever-showing-us-where-common-and-threatened-species-live-212372">Citizen scientists collect more nature data than ever, showing us where common and threatened species live</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222610/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s a horror story unfolding in the west that could sweep across the country. Beware the shot-hole borer, an exotic pest that threatens our tree crops, plantations, urban forests and wild places.Theo Evans, Associate Professor, The University of Western AustraliaBruce Webber, Principal Research Scientist, CSIROLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2221472024-02-07T00:33:45Z2024-02-07T00:33:45ZWith Pakistan’s most popular politician in jail and cynicism running high, can a new leader unite the country?<p>Pakistanis headed to the polls on Thursday to elect a new parliament and prime minister at a time of renewed political turbulence in the country.</p>
<p>The country’s popular former leader, Imran Khan, has been <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/03/asia/imran-khan-convicted-fraudulent-marriage-pakistan-intl/index.html#:%7E:text=Jailed%20Pakistani%20former%20Prime%20Minister%20Imran%20Khan%20and%20his%20wife,2018%20marriage%20violated%20the%20law.">sentenced</a> three separate times in recent weeks to lengthy jail terms. The timing before this week’s election is intended to send a message: the military wants him out of politics using a judicial pathway. </p>
<p>The military, which has directly and indirectly controlled Pakistan’s politics for seven decades, appears determined to reopen the political space for two other parties in the lead-up to the vote. </p>
<p>These are the <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/pakistans-comeback-king-nawaz-sharif-seeks-fourth-term-as-pm/articleshow/107418610.cms?from=mdr">Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz</a> (PML-N) party, led by three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, and the <a href="https://www.aninews.in/news/world/asia/bilawal-bhutto-launches-pakistan-peoples-party-electoral-rally-in-karachi-ahead-of-general-elections20240206045549/">Pakistan People’s Party</a>, led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the son of former president Asif Ali Zardari and assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.</p>
<p>So, with Khan in prison and barred from running, which party is likely to win the election and what challenges lie ahead for the new government?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pakistan-election-the-military-has-long-meddled-in-the-countrys-politics-this-year-will-be-no-different-222443">Pakistan election: the military has long meddled in the country's politics – this year will be no different</a>
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</em>
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<hr>
<h2>Khan’s downfall</h2>
<p>Khan, a former cricket star, led the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/26/imran-khan-claims-victory-in-pakistan-elections">victory</a> in the 2018 elections. But he lost the support of the military and was ousted in April 2022 through a no confidence vote in the National Assembly.</p>
<p>Since then, his party, PTI, has remained immensely popular. It <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/17/former-pm-imran-khan-dominates-pakistan-by-elections">dominated</a> byelections in late 2022 to fill seats in the National Assembly that had been left vacant when PTI lawmakers resigned en masse to protest his ouster.</p>
<p>Last year, Khan was barred from politics for five years after being convicted on corruption charges. He maintains the charges were politically motivated. Then came the <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/03/asia/imran-khan-convicted-fraudulent-marriage-pakistan-intl/index.html#:%7E:text=Jailed%20Pakistani%20former%20Prime%20Minister%20Imran%20Khan%20and%20his%20wife,2018%20marriage%20violated%20the%20law.">sentences</a> handed down this year (it’s unclear if they will be served concurrently):</p>
<ul>
<li><p>ten years in prison for breaching the Official Secrets Act</p></li>
<li><p>14 years in prison for failing to disclose gifts received from foreign leaders, selling them and then not disclosing the amounts earned</p></li>
<li><p>seven years in prison for being in an un-Islamic marriage.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>With Khan barred from standing for office and no support from the military, PTI seems very unlikely to secure enough seats to return to power.</p>
<p>The electoral commission made things even more difficult by <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/pakistan-s-pti-barred-from-using-cricket-bat-electoral-symbol-/7439552.html">blocking</a> the party’s use of the cricket bat symbol to identify its candidates. In a country with low levels of literacy, many people <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1806320/why-electoral-symbols-are-important-for-political-parties">rely on these symbols</a> when they cast their ballots. </p>
<p>The commission has instead allocated individual symbols to PTI’s candidates. This will create confusion among PTI’s supporters, who will need to know which symbols have been given to which candidates in their specific electorates. </p>
<p>Given the support among the youth for Khan and the PTI leadership urging its supporters to vote in the elections, the party’s candidates may still secure seats in the national and provincial assemblies. Their chances of forming a government, though, are virtually nil.</p>
<h2>The return of an exiled former leader</h2>
<p>Sharif, now 74 years old, is considered the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/05/pakistan-election-nawaz-sharif">frontrunner</a> to be prime minister again – for a fourth time.</p>
<p>Sharif owes his initial entry into politics to the military regime led by General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq in the 1980s. His relationship with the military since the 1990s, however, has vacillated between being cordial and antagonistic. </p>
<p>In fact, Sharif blamed former military and spy chiefs for <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/from-london-pakistans-former-prime-minister-nawaz-sharif-blames-ex-army-chief-for-his-2017-ouster/articleshow/103782275.cms?from=mdr">orchestrating</a> his ouster from power in 2017 when he was convicted of corruption. He was subsequently disqualified for life from participating in Pakistan’s politics. </p>
<p>Now he has <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/pakistan-s-former-pm-cleared-of-all-graft-charges-/7395239.html">returned</a> from self-imposed exile to stage another political comeback. With his relationship with the military back in a “<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/pakistans-three-time-premier-nawaz-sharif-expected-home-exile-2023-10-21/">cordial</a>” phase, the courts immediately overturned his corruption convictions when he returned to Pakistan late last year, paving his way to run in the election. </p>
<p>Sharif has since introduced the slogan “<em><a href="https://www.geo.tv/latest/528679-pakistan-ko-nawaz-do-pml-n-unveils-much-awaited-election-manifesto">Pakistan ko Nawaz do</a></em>”, with the dual meaning of “Give Nawaz to Pakistan” and “Be Generous to Pakistan”. </p>
<p>Bhutto, just 35 years old, hails from a political dynasty, which has laid the groundwork for his rise to power. As the foreign minister in the coalition government that ousted Khan, he has made his mark and is presenting himself as a symbol of new thinking (<em>nai soch</em>) in Pakistan. </p>
<p>Both candidates have been holding rallies across the country, but it remains unclear if either will be able to win a national election. PML-N is strong in Punjab in the east and PPP’s support comes mostly in Sindh in the far south-east.</p>
<p>As such, Pakistan appears to be heading for a coalition government, which will have to address several challenges facing the country. </p>
<h2>A struggling economy and spiralling inflation</h2>
<p>The most pressing issue for the new government will be to prevent further economic decline and <a href="https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2024/country-chapters/pakistan">improve the living conditions of ordinary citizens</a>. </p>
<p>Pakistan’s GDP growth rate has fallen from <a href="https://www.adb.org/where-we-work/pakistan/economy">5.8% in 2021 to about 0.3% in 2023</a>. At the same time, inflation has spiked against the backdrop of devastating floods in 2022, the rise in oil prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the demands of the International Monetary Fund for more sensible economic planning and the removal of unrealistic subsidies. Rates increased from <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/pakistan-rampant-inflation-piles-on-the-pressure/a-59823980">8.9% in 2021</a> to a <a href="https://www.brecorder.com/news/40281508/pakistans-headline-inflation-reading-clocks-in-at-297-in-december">whopping 29.7%</a> in December 2023. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, the rate of people living in poverty in Pakistan has climbed <a href="https://pakistanaffairs.pk/2023/10/03/the-world-bank-estimates-that-the-poverty-rate-in-pakistan-will-reach-39-4-in-fy23/">to nearly 40%</a>, more than five percentage points higher than fiscal year 2022. </p>
<p>The new government will also need to revisit Pakistan’s foreign policy. Khan’s allegations of <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2022/05/27/asia/pakistan-imran-khan-us-conspiracy-intl-hnk/index.html">US meddling in Pakistan’s politics</a> soured the country’s relations with Washington, while his less-than-enthusiastic approach to Chinese investment projects <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/china-was-uncomfortable-with-pakistan-under-imran-khan-reports/articleshow/93251831.cms?from=mdr">strained relations</a> with Beijing. </p>
<p>Even the Gulf states that traditionally had good relations with Pakistan began to recalibrate their south Asian strategies, with a clear tilt towards India. </p>
<p>The new government will also have to devise a new approach to Afghanistan. Despite the euphoria shared by some, particularly Khan, upon the return of the Taliban to government, Islamabad’s relations with Kabul have been affected by the new regime’s reluctance to address the <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/21/what-explains-the-dramatic-rise-in-armed-attacks-in-pakistan">rise in attacks</a> by the Pakistani Taliban (often referred to as Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, or TTP) and other groups. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-terrorism-returning-to-pakistan-198995">Is terrorism returning to Pakistan?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But the most significant challenge for the new government will be the growing cynicism among Pakistanis around the legitimacy of the electoral process. </p>
<p>Khan’s downfall has drawn attention to the military’s ever-present need to control the government. And this has led to ordinary citizens openly criticising the military, a phenomenon unheard of before. A small minority of people in private gatherings are even questioning the legitimacy of the idea of Pakistan. </p>
<p>The new government will need to work hard to cement its legitimacy in such circumstances. Failing to do that would plunge Pakistan into yet another round of instability.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222147/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samina Yasmeen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With the military back on his side and his convictions quashed, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif could return to power in this week’s election.Samina Yasmeen, Director of Centre for Muslim States and Societies, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2228772024-02-06T13:15:46Z2024-02-06T13:15:46ZTerra pode já ter ultrapassado limite de aquecimento de 1,5°C<p>As temperaturas globais já ultrapassaram 1,5°C de aquecimento e podem passar de 2°C no final desta década, de acordo com <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-023-01919-7">um estudo inédito no mundo</a> que eu liderei. As descobertas preocupantes, baseadas em registros de temperatura contidos em esqueletos de esponjas marinhas, sugerem que a mudança climática global avançou muito mais do que se pensava anteriormente.</p>
<p>As emissões de gases de efeito estufa pela Humanidade impulsionam o aquecimento global. A obtenção de informações precisas sobre a extensão deste aquecimento é vital, pois nos ajuda a entender se eventos climáticos extremos são mais prováveis no futuro próximo e se o mundo está progredindo na redução das emissões.</p>
<p>Até o momento, as estimativas do aquecimento da parte superior do oceano foram baseadas principalmente em registros de temperatura da superfície do mar, mas esses registros datam de apenas 180 anos. Em vez disso, estudamos 300 anos de registros preservados nos esqueletos de esponjas marinhas de vida longa do leste do Caribe. Em particular, examinamos as mudanças na quantidade de uma substância química conhecida como estrôncio em seus esqueletos, o que reflete as variações nas temperaturas da água do mar durante a vida do organismo.</p>
<p>Manter o aumento médio da temperatura global abaixo de 1,5°C frente à era pré-industriais é uma meta do Acordo Climático de Paris de 2015. Nossa pesquisa, publicada na revista científica Nature Climate Change, sugere que essa oportunidade já passou. A Terra pode, de fato, já ter atingido pelo menos 1,7°C de aquecimento desde os tempos pré-industriais - uma descoberta profundamente preocupante. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="nascer do sol no Caribe Oriental" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573306/original/file-20240205-19-trs5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573306/original/file-20240205-19-trs5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573306/original/file-20240205-19-trs5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573306/original/file-20240205-19-trs5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573306/original/file-20240205-19-trs5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573306/original/file-20240205-19-trs5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573306/original/file-20240205-19-trs5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Os pesquisadores estudaram espécies de esponjas do Caribe Oriental.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Medindo o calor do oceano</h2>
<p>O aquecimento global está causando grandes mudanças no clima da Terra. Isso ficou evidente recentemente durante <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-climate-expert-explains-the-northern-hemispheres-weird-wild-summer-and-what-it-means-for-australia-209862">ondas de calor</a> sem precedentes no sul da Europa, na China e em grande parte da América do Norte.</p>
<p>Os oceanos cobrem <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/oceanwater.html#:%7E:text=The%20ocean%20covers%20more%20than,in%20glaciers%20and%20ice%20caps.">mais de 70%</a> da superfície da Terra e absorvem uma enorme quantidade de calor e dióxido de carbono. As temperaturas da superfície global são tradicionalmente calculadas pela média da temperatura da água na superfície do mar e do ar logo acima da superfície da terra.</p>
<p>Mas os registros históricos de temperatura dos oceanos são irregulares. Os primeiros registros de temperatura do mar foram obtidos inserindo-se um termômetro em amostras de água <a href="https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-sea-surface-temperature">coletadas por navios</a>. Os registros sistemáticos estão disponíveis só a partir da década de 1850 e, mesmo assim, com cobertura limitada. Devido a essa falta de dados anteriores, o Painel Intergovernamental sobre Mudanças Climáticas da ONU (IPCC) definiu o período pré-industrial como sendo de <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/SR15_FAQ_Low_Res.pdf">1850 a 1900</a>.</p>
<p>Mas os seres humanos têm bombeado quantidades substanciais de dióxido de carbono para a atmosfera desde, pelo menos, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/Industrial-Revolution">o início do século XIX</a>. Portanto, o período de linha de base a partir do qual o aquecimento é medido deve, idealmente, ser definido a partir de meados de 1700 ou antes.</p>
<p>Além disso, uma série de <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2009GL040882">erupções vulcânicas excepcionalmente grandes</a> ocorreu no início de 1800, causando um resfriamento global maciço. Isso dificulta a reconstrução precisa da linha de base estável das temperaturas oceânicas.</p>
<p>Mas e se houvesse uma maneira de medir com precisão as temperaturas do oceano durante séculos no passado? Existe, e ela é chamada de “termometria de esclerose”. </p>
<h2>Estudando uma esponja especial</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/100-years/object/sclerosponge/">As esclerosponjas</a> são um grupo de esponjas marinhas que se assemelham aos corais duros, pois produzem um esqueleto de carbonato. Mas elas crescem em um ritmo muito mais lento, e podem viver por muitas centenas de anos. </p>
<p>Os esqueletos incorporam vários elementos químicos, incluindo estrôncio e cálcio. A proporção desses dois elementos varia durante os períodos mais quentes e mais frios. Isso significa que as esclerosponjas podem fornecer um diário detalhado das temperaturas do mar, com uma resolução de apenas 0,1°C. </p>
<p>Estudamos a espécie de esponja <em>Ceratoporella nicholsoni</em>. Elas ocorrem no Caribe Oriental, onde a variabilidade natural das temperaturas do oceano superior é baixa, o que facilita a identificação dos efeitos da mudança climática. Queríamos investigar as temperaturas em uma parte do oceano conhecida como “<a href="https://gmd.copernicus.org/articles/16/3849/2023/gmd-16-3849-2023.pdf">camada mista do oceano</a>”. Essa é a parte superior do oceano, onde o calor é trocado entre a atmosfera e o interior do oceano. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="seção da esponja Ceratoporella nicholsoni" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573301/original/file-20240205-23-trs5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573301/original/file-20240205-23-trs5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573301/original/file-20240205-23-trs5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573301/original/file-20240205-23-trs5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573301/original/file-20240205-23-trs5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=709&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573301/original/file-20240205-23-trs5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=709&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573301/original/file-20240205-23-trs5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=709&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">O autor e seus colegas estudaram a espécie de esponja <em>Ceratoporella nicholsoni</em>.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6601481">Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Analisamos as temperaturas de 300 anos atrás para ver se o período atual que define as temperaturas pré-industriais era preciso. E o que descobrimos? </p>
<p>Os registros das esponjas mostraram temperaturas quase constantes de 1700 a 1790 e de 1840 a 1860 (com uma lacuna no meio devido ao resfriamento vulcânico). Descobrimos que um aumento nas temperaturas do oceano começou a partir de meados da década de 1860 e era inequivocamente evidente em meados da década de 1870. Isso sugere que o período pré-industrial deve ser definido como os anos de 1700 a 1860.</p>
<p>As implicações dessas descobertas são profundas.</p>
<h2>O que isso significa para o aquecimento global?</h2>
<p>Usando essa nova linha de base, surge um quadro muito diferente do aquecimento global. Ele mostra que o aquecimento oceânico causado pela Humanidade começou pelo menos várias décadas antes do que o IPCC supunha anteriormente.</p>
<p>A mudança climática de longo prazo é comumente medida em relação ao aquecimento médio nos 30 anos entre 1961 e 1990, bem como ao aquecimento nas décadas mais recentes.</p>
<p>Nossas descobertas sugerem que, no intervalo entre o final de nosso período pré-industrial recém-definido e a média de 30 anos mencionada acima, as temperaturas do oceano e da superfície terrestre aumentaram 0,9°C. Isso é muito mais do que o aquecimento de 0,4°C estimado pelo IPCC para o período pré-industrial. </p>
<p>Acrescente a isso o <a href="https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/hadsst4/">aquecimento global médio de 0,8°C</a> de 1990 até os últimos anos, e a Terra pode ter se aquecido, em média, pelo menos 1,7°C desde os tempos pré-industriais. Isso sugere que ultrapassamos a meta de 1,5°C do Acordo de Paris. </p>
<p>Também sugere que a meta primordial do acordo, de manter o aquecimento global médio abaixo de 2°C, agora tem grande probabilidade de ser ultrapassada até o final da década de 2020 - quase duas décadas antes do esperado.</p>
<p>Nosso estudo também produziu outra descoberta alarmante. Desde o final do século XX, as temperaturas terra-ar têm aumentado a uma taxa quase duas vezes maior que a da superfície dos oceanos e agora estão mais de 2°C acima dos níveis pré-industriais. Isso é consistente com o declínio bem documentado do <em>permafrost</em>, a camada de solo permanentemente congelada do Ártico, e com o aumento da frequência de ondas de calor, incêndios florestais e secas em todo o mundo.</p>
<h2>Precisamos agir agora</h2>
<p>Nossas estimativas revisadas sugerem que a mudança climática está em um estágio mais avançado do que pensávamos. Isso é motivo de grande preocupação.</p>
<p>Parece que a humanidade perdeu a chance de limitar o aquecimento global a 1,5°C e tem uma tarefa muito desafiadora pela frente para manter o aquecimento abaixo de 2°C. Isso ressalta a necessidade urgente de reduzir pela metade as emissões globais até 2030.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222877/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Malcolm McCulloch recebe financiamento do Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>Manter o aquecimento global abaixo de 1.5° C na comparação com os tempos pré-industriais é uma das metas do Acordo de Paris, e oportunidade que já pode ter passadoMalcolm McCulloch, Professor, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2226012024-02-05T19:11:25Z2024-02-05T19:11:25Z‘A deeply troubling discovery’: Earth may have already passed the crucial 1.5°C warming limit<p>Global temperatures have already exceeded 1.5°C warming and may pass 2°C later this decade, according to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-023-01919-7">a world-first study</a> I led. The worrying findings, based on temperature records contained in sea sponge skeletons, suggest global climate change has progressed much further than previously thought.</p>
<p>Human-caused greenhouse gas emissions drive global warming. Obtaining accurate information about the extent of the warming is vital, because it helps us understand if extreme weather events are more likely in the near future, and whether the world is making progress in reducing emissions.</p>
<p>To date, estimates of upper ocean warming have been mainly based on sea-surface temperature records, however these date back only about 180 years. We instead studied 300 years of records preserved in the skeletons of long-lived sea sponges from the Eastern Caribbean. In particular, we examined changes in the amount of a chemical known as “strontium” in their skeletons, which reflects variations in seawater temperatures over the organism’s life.</p>
<p>Keeping the average global temperature rise below 1.5°C since pre-industrial times is a goal of the 2015 Paris climate deal. Our research, published in Nature Climate Change, suggests that opportunity has passed. Earth may in fact have already reached at least 1.7°C warming since pre-industrial times – a deeply troubling discovery. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="sunrise in the Eastern Caribbean" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573306/original/file-20240205-19-trs5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573306/original/file-20240205-19-trs5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573306/original/file-20240205-19-trs5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573306/original/file-20240205-19-trs5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573306/original/file-20240205-19-trs5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573306/original/file-20240205-19-trs5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573306/original/file-20240205-19-trs5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=506&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The researchers studied sponge specimens from the Eastern Caribbean.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Getting a gauge on ocean heat</h2>
<p>Global warming is causing major changes to the Earth’s climate. This was evident recently during unprecedented <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-climate-expert-explains-the-northern-hemispheres-weird-wild-summer-and-what-it-means-for-australia-209862">heatwaves</a> across southern Europe, China and large parts of North America.</p>
<p>Oceans cover <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/oceanwater.html#:%7E:text=The%20ocean%20covers%20more%20than,in%20glaciers%20and%20ice%20caps.">more than 70%</a> of Earth’s surface and absorb an enormous amount of heat and carbon dioxide. Global surface temperatures are traditionally calculated by averaging the temperature of water at the sea surface, and the air just above the land surface.</p>
<p>But historical temperature records for oceans are patchy. The earliest recordings of sea temperatures were gathered by inserting a thermometer into water samples <a href="https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-sea-surface-temperature">collected by ships</a>. Systematic records are available only from the 1850s – and only then with limited coverage. Because of this lack of earlier data, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has defined the pre-industrial period as from <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/SR15_FAQ_Low_Res.pdf">1850 to 1900</a>.</p>
<p>But humans have been pumping substantial levels of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere since at least <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/Industrial-Revolution">the early 1800s</a>. So the baseline period from which warming is measured should ideally be defined from the mid-1700s or earlier.</p>
<p>What’s more, a series of exceptionally <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2009GL040882">large volcanic eruptions</a> occurred in the early 1800s, causing massive global cooling. This makes it more difficult to accurately reconstruct stable baseline ocean temperatures.</p>
<p>But what if there was a way to precisely gauge ocean temperatures over centuries in the past? There is, and it’s called “sclerosponge thermometry”. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-climate-expert-explains-the-northern-hemispheres-weird-wild-summer-and-what-it-means-for-australia-209862">A climate expert explains the Northern Hemisphere's weird, wild summer – and what it means for Australia</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<h2>Studying a special sponge</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/100-years/object/sclerosponge/">Sclerosponges</a> are a group of sea sponges that resemble hard corals, in that they produce a carbonate skeleton. But they grow at a much slower rate and can live for many hundreds of years. </p>
<p>The skeletons incorporate a number of chemical elements including strontium and calcium. The ratio of these two elements varies during warmer and cooler periods. This means sclerosponges can provide a detailed diary of sea temperatures, down to a resolution of just 0.1°C. </p>
<p>We studied the sponge species <em>Ceratoporella nicholsoni</em>. They occur in the Eastern Caribbean, where the natural variability of upper ocean temperatures is low which makes it easier to tease out the effects of climate change. We wanted to investigate temperatures in a part of the ocean known as the “<a href="https://gmd.copernicus.org/articles/16/3849/2023/gmd-16-3849-2023.pdf">ocean mixed layer</a>”. This is the upper part of the ocean, where heat is exchanged between the atmosphere and the ocean interior. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="a cross section of the sponge Ceratoporella nicholsoni" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573301/original/file-20240205-23-trs5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573301/original/file-20240205-23-trs5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573301/original/file-20240205-23-trs5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573301/original/file-20240205-23-trs5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573301/original/file-20240205-23-trs5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=709&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573301/original/file-20240205-23-trs5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=709&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573301/original/file-20240205-23-trs5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=709&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The author and his colleagues studied the sponge species <em>Ceratoporella nicholsoni</em>.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6601481">Wikimedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We looked at temperatures going back 300 years, to see whether the current time period which defines pre-industrial temperatures was accurate. So what did we find? </p>
<p>The sponge records showed nearly constant temperatures from 1700 to 1790 and from 1840 to 1860 (with a gap in the middle due to volcanic cooling). We found a rise in ocean temperatures began from the mid-1860s, and was unambiguously evident by the mid-1870s. This suggests the pre-industrial period should be defined as the years 1700 to 1860.</p>
<p>The implications of these findings are profound.</p>
<h2>What does this mean for global warming?</h2>
<p>Using this new baseline, a very different picture of global warming emerges. It shows human-caused ocean warming began at least several decades earlier than previously assumed by the IPCC.</p>
<p>Long-term climate change is commonly measured against the average warming over the 30 years from 1961 to 1990, as well as warming in more recent decades.</p>
<p>Our findings suggest that in the interval between the end of our newly defined pre-industrial period and the 30-year average mentioned above, the temperatures of the ocean and land surface increased by 0.9°C. This is far more than the 0.4°C warming the IPCC has estimated, using the conventional timeframe for the pre-industrial period.</p>
<p>Add to that the <a href="https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/hadsst4/">average 0.8°C global warming</a> from 1990 to recent years, and the Earth may have warmed on average by at least 1.7°C since pre-industrial times. This suggests we have passed the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement. </p>
<p>It also suggests the overriding goal of the agreement, to keep average global warming below 2°C, is now very likely to be exceeded by the end of the 2020s – nearly two decades sooner than expected.</p>
<p>Our study has also produced another alarming finding. Since the late 20th century, land-air temperatures have been increasing at almost twice the rate of surface oceans and are now more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels. This is consistent with well-documented decline in Arctic permafrost and the increased frequency around the world of heatwaves, bushfires and drought.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-is-sleepwalking-a-bushfire-scientist-explains-what-the-hawaii-tragedy-means-for-our-flammable-continent-211364">'Australia is sleepwalking': a bushfire scientist explains what the Hawaii tragedy means for our flammable continent</a>
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<hr>
<h2>We must act now</h2>
<p>Our revised estimates suggest climate change is at a more advanced stage than we thought. This is cause for great concern.</p>
<p>It appears that humanity has missed its chance to limit global warming to 1.5°C and has a very challenging task ahead to keep warming below 2°C. This underscores the urgent need to halve global emissions by 2030.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222601/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Malcolm McCulloch receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>Keeping the average global temperature rise below 1.5°C since pre-industrial times is a goal of the 2015 Paris climate deal. New research suggests that opportunity has passed.Malcolm McCulloch, Professor, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2225112024-02-02T11:04:44Z2024-02-02T11:04:44ZGovernments spend US$22 billion a year helping the fishing industry empty our oceans. This injustice must end<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572830/original/file-20240201-27-sdoziy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C0%2C1370%2C770&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/drone-view-of-fishing-trawler-on-sea-5829126/">Pok Rie/Pexel</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Overfishing has dire consequences for ocean health and for the millions of people who depend on fish for food and wellbeing. Globally, catch has been steadily <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms10244">declining</a> since the 1990s. It’s a trend that’s likely to continue if we fail to act now.</p>
<p>Nearly all governments, including Australia’s, subsidise their fishing industries. Financial support comes in many forms, from taxpayer-funded fuel to reduced boat-building costs. These subsidies are harmful because they encourage overfishing. Some of the most environmentally damaging and least efficient fishing activities, such as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0308597X09001663">bottom trawling</a> and <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/sciadv.aat2504">distant water fishing</a>, would become unprofitable and cease without government <a href="https://archives.nereusprogram.org/ask-an-expert-why-is-the-global-fishing-industry-given-35-billion-in-subsidies-each-year/">subsidies</a>. </p>
<p>Scientists worldwide are rallying for stringent regulations to eliminate harmful fisheries subsidies, which totalled a whopping <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X19303677">US$22 billion</a> in 2018. Safeguarding the ocean will strengthen food security and allow more equitable distribution of marine resources.</p>
<p>Trade ministers from around the world are set to convene later this month in Abu Dhabi at a key meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO). In an <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s44183-024-00042-0">open letter</a> published today, we are among 36 marine experts calling on the WTO to adopt ambitious regulations promoting fisheries sustainability and equity, and to eliminate harmful fisheries subsidies.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/putting-an-end-to-billions-in-fishing-subsidies-could-improve-fish-stocks-and-ocean-health-163470">Putting an end to billions in fishing subsidies could improve fish stocks and ocean health</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A long-awaited agreement</h2>
<p>International pressure from scientists helped to broker an earlier agreement on fishing subsidies, which is yet to be ratified. </p>
<p>In October 2021, 300 experts published an <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abm1680">article in Nature</a> calling for an end to harmful subsidies in the fishing sector. </p>
<p>After decades of fruitless negotiations, the WTO finally reached an <a href="https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/rulesneg_e/fish_e/fish_factsheet_e.pdf">agreement on fisheries subsidies</a> in June 2022. </p>
<p>Once ratified by two-thirds of WTO members, this agreement will partially address the United Nations <a href="https://indicators.report/targets/14-6/">Sustainable Development Goal Target 14.6</a> to eliminate harmful subsidies.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572831/original/file-20240201-17-tiyvdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man in a suit brings down the gavel after agreement was reached on fisheries subsidies at the WTO meeting in 2022." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572831/original/file-20240201-17-tiyvdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572831/original/file-20240201-17-tiyvdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572831/original/file-20240201-17-tiyvdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572831/original/file-20240201-17-tiyvdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572831/original/file-20240201-17-tiyvdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572831/original/file-20240201-17-tiyvdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572831/original/file-20240201-17-tiyvdp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The gavel goes down after members reached an agreement on fisheries subsidies, Geneva, 17 June 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/mc12_e/photos_e.htm">WTO/Jay Louvion</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Unfortunately, while this agreement is historic, it is narrow. It only prohibits member governments from financing illegal fishing activities and the exploitation of already overfished stocks. But it’s obvious illegal fishing should be banned and the focus on overfished stocks is too little, too late. </p>
<p>Experts argue the agreement fails to specifically address harmful subsidies across global fisheries and as such only affects a <a href="https://oceana.org/blog/the-wto-agreement-saves-face-but-does-it-save-fish/">trivial component</a> of subsidy-driven exploitation. The subsidies that reduce operating costs and increase fishing capacity, allowing vessels to travel further and remain at sea longer, remain in place. </p>
<h2>Fisheries subsidies affect more than just fish</h2>
<p>Scientists have been <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-021-00451-1">sounding the alarm</a> for decades. Many published studies document the <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0020239">destabilising effects</a> of fisheries subsidies on ecosystems. In addition to impacting biodiversity and ecosystems, subsidies also increase the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921800921001154">CO₂ emissions</a> that contribute to climate change.</p>
<p>More recently, studies have also applied a social perspective to this issue. Seafood lifts millions of people out of hunger, malnutrition and poverty. Yet more people will lose a secure <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/534317a">source of food and nutrients</a> if fish stocks continue to decline due to industrial overfishing. </p>
<p>Research shedding light on the concept of “<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X20302529">equity</a>” shows subsidies don’t just harm the ocean, they also affect human <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/5-ways-harmful-fisheries-subsidies-impact-coastal-communities">communities</a>. These communities are largely in developing countries which are rarely the source of harmful fisheries subsidies. Rather, their waters are exploited by <a href="https://oceana.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/OceanaDWF_FinalReport.pdf">foreign vessels</a> supported by wealthy governments’ fisheries subsidies.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572832/original/file-20240201-25-bknp4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Person wearing gloves, bending down to handle drying squid on a fish net" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572832/original/file-20240201-25-bknp4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/572832/original/file-20240201-25-bknp4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572832/original/file-20240201-25-bknp4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572832/original/file-20240201-25-bknp4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572832/original/file-20240201-25-bknp4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572832/original/file-20240201-25-bknp4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/572832/original/file-20240201-25-bknp4o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Fisheries contribute to livelihoods and food security of millions of people.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-drying-squid-on-fishnet-13243896/">Jimmy Liao/Pexel</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>Fisheries subsidies foster unfair competition not only among countries but also between industrial and community led fishing fleets. In the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s44183-023-00031-9">Indian Ocean</a>, the level of subsidies provided to industrial fisheries corresponds to the amount of seafood exported to international markets, largely supplying rich and food-secure countries. This shows governments are deliberately empowering their industrial fleets to fish for seafood largely exported and consumed elsewhere, instead of sustaining fisheries providing food for locals. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fisheries-subsidies-fuel-ocean-depletion-and-hurt-coastal-communities-142260">Fisheries subsidies fuel ocean depletion and hurt coastal communities</a>
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<h2>The good, the bad and the ugly</h2>
<p>While most nations contribute to harmful subsidies, <a href="https://oceana.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/994812/Oceana_Summary6-22.pdf">ten nations</a> are responsible for 70% of this unsustainable financing. Chief among them are China, Japan and the European Union, reflecting the significant size of their distant water fishing fleets that typically access the resources of less-developed nations.</p>
<p>In contrast, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X19303677?via%3Dihub">Australia</a> contributes only 0.1% of global harmful subsidies. Only 6% of Australia’s annual US$400 million in fisheries subsidies is considered harmful. While Australia should give attention to its ongoing annual taxpayer contribution of US$25 million to the fishing sector, it is well placed to demonstrate global leadership on how fishing can deliver sustainable and equitable outcomes without harmful subsidies.</p>
<h2>An essential opportunity</h2>
<p>A <a href="https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/mc13_e/mc13_e.htm">second wave</a> of negotiations on fisheries subsidies is expected during the WTO Ministerial Conference this February in Abu Dhabi. This conference represents an invaluable opportunity to better protect the ocean. </p>
<p>In anticipation of this meeting, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s44183-024-00042-0">we are urging nations</a> to adopt more ambitious regulations that eliminate harmful subsidies, prioritising fisheries sustainability and ocean equity. </p>
<p>Harmful fisheries subsidies are not only unsustainable but profoundly unfair. Based on the extensive body of evidence, the WTO should agree to eliminate harmful subsidies once and for all.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222511/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vania Andreoli received funding for her PhD research from the Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship and The Jock Clough Marine Foundation through the Oceans Institute Robson and Robertson Award. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dirk Zeller supervises Vania Andreoli’s PhD, so his lab has indirectly received funding for this doctoral research from the Australian Government and the Jock Clough Marine Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessica Meeuwig supervises Vania Andreoli's PhD so her lab has indirectly received funding for this doctoral research from the Australian Government and the Jock Clough Marine Foundation. </span></em></p>Governments all over the world are propping up overfishing. Now scientists have penned an open letter calling on trade ministers to implement stricter regulations against harmful fisheries subsidies.Vania Andreoli, PhD Candidate, The University of Western AustraliaDirk Zeller, Professor & Director, Sea Around Us - Indian Ocean, The University of Western AustraliaJessica Meeuwig, Wen Family Chair in Conservation, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.