Planning for the 2019 ARS Conference is well underway. This year’s conference will be held at Kambri Convention Centre at Australian National University, Canberra, from 2-5 September 2019.
Over 100 abstracts have been submitted for oral and poster presentation at the conference, which will spread across 10 themes within the program. ‘Rangelands in a global perspective’ and ‘Evidence-based approaches to new practices and policies’ are popular topics.
The conference encourages future leaders, and approximately 10% of attendees are students or Early Career Professionals. Sponsorship funding has been offered to assist many of the Early Career Professionals to attend.
The theme is ‘Resilient future rangelands: integrating environment and livelihoods’, and the program will consider issues such as management of rangelands, improving land use productivity, diversifying livelihoods, sustainable land use, social licence to operate the importance of Indigenous local knowledge, and of women, to enabling resilient rangelands and coping with change.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:
- Professor Andrew Campbell FTSE, CEO of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)
- Fiona Simson, National Farmers Federation
- Professor Brian Walker, Research Fellow, CSIRO; Honorary Professor, Australian National University
- Tess Herbert, the Chair of the Sustainability Steering Group (SSG) that drive implementation of the Australian Beef Sustainability Framework, and former President of the Australian Lot Feeders’ Association
- Dr David Phelps, President of the Australian Rangeland Society
- Mr Bruce Martin, Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation Board member, President of the Cape York Peninsula Live Export Group, member of Regional Development Australia Far North Queensland and Torres Strait.
- Dr Cathy Waters, Leader Climate Research at NSW Department of Primary Industries
CONVERSATIONS THAT MATTER
Three Conversations that Matter panel discussions will be offered on Tuesday 3 September.
Topics and Facilitators:
- Social license to operate – whose responsibility is it anyway?, facilitated by Andrew Ash
- Does policy undermine the ability of rangelanders to adapt to a changing world?, facilitated by Barry Traill
- Proposition: fragmented rangelands funding streams prevent communities working together, facilitated by Kate Forrest
EARLY CAREER WORKSHOPS
Pre-conference Early Career Workshops are also on offer. Most students or ECP’s who are registering will also attend one of the following workshops:
- Career development
- Communication and Pitching ideas
- Leadership in rangelands
- Interface between policy and rangeland stakeholders
OTHER WORKSHOPS, SYMPOSIUMS, FIELD TRIPS AND SOCIAL EVENTS
A number of additional conference events have been arranged by the Conference Organisers including:
- A Global Dryland Ecosystem (G-DEP) Program networking consultation
- A Symposium on ‘Kangaroo Management in Australia: the need for reform’
- Field trips in and around the Canberra region
- The Conference Dinner at the National Arboretum Canberra
REGISTER NOW
All Conference details, including registration information and the full conference program, are now available at the ARS Conference website: https://www.ars2019.com.au/.
If you have any further questions please contact the Conference Secretariat at ars2019@kaigi.com.au or Ph: 02 6198 3218
