tropical

A fable about land management in the tropics

This is a story to illustrate an instructive lesson on active land management. It involves animals including humans, plants and forces of nature.

My story is a call to arms to highlight that our land management issues are not straightforward and the solutions require the fortitude to go against elitist and misguided orthodoxy.

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Should we cull crocodiles?

Crocodiles are ancient reptiles with their ancestors around before the age of the dinosaurs. What makes them so durable is they are perfectly adapted to their environment. The estuarine or saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is most likely encountered in tidal rivers and estuaries, billabongs, and floodplains. However, they can also be found in the open sea.… Read more

The banana (and sugar and pineapple) state – a look at some major food crops in the Queensland tropics

Driving around tropical North Queensland, we have seen and walked in remarkable rainforest-clad mountains and viewed beautiful coastal scenery. However, one of the more enduring memories was the actual extent of banana, sugar cane and pineapple farms.

I was exposed to banana and sugar cane farming in my youth. When I lived in Maryborough (Queensland) in the early 1980s, sugar cane was a dominant enterprise.… Read more