September. October 9W
HEN WE
hear the
term
deforestation, it is
often accompanied
by footage of
dense tracts of
Amazonian
rainforests being
illegally bulldozed
or aerial images of vast palm oil
plantations on once thickly forested
equatorial mountain slopes that springs
to mind.
In Australia, it might suit us to
believe our highly prized native forests
are somehow safe from acts of environ-
mental vandalism, but we would be
wrong. In this issue we present a
special report from Science and
Environment Editor Karen McGhee
on Australia’s alarming rate of native
vegetation destruction. It’s a record that
sees Australia regarded internationally
as one of the hotspots of deforestation
along with the Amazon, Borneo and
the Congo. Landscape-scale tree
clearing is a legacy of our colonial
agricultural past and a price we paid to
build a nation, but it’s one we can no
longer afford.
The dual economic and environ-
mental benefits of sustainable agricul-
ture that includes the retention and
rehabilitation of native vegetation is
widely accepted and many developing
countries are leading the way.
Yet here we struggle to balance the
needs of the current generation with
our obligations to those who’ll come
after. Weak legislation and illegal
activity lie at the heart of the problem,
but it’s the farmers on the frontline
who really hold the key, and it’s
heartening to see that many are ready
to turn the tide.
As if to underpin just how impor-
tant native trees are, Elizabeth Ginis’s
story on the Gondwana Rainforests of
Australia serves as a reminder that not
all our most spectacular rainforest
occurs in the tropics. Within cooee of
major population centres along the east
coast are big forests of staggering
beauty and antiquity. Go see them,
spend time walking beneath their
green canopies and learn more about
the role they play in protecting our
water supplies, native biodiversity,
capturing carbon and ultimately
keeping us all safe. I guarantee you’ll
enjoy the adventure too.
A dazzling cohort of Australia’s most
trailblazing adventurers and conserva-
tionists will be honoured at our annual
Awards night on 1 November at the
Shangri-La Hotel in Sydney.
Meet our guest speaker, deep ocean
explorer Victor Vescovo on page 96
and then come along and see him in
person on that special night.Not good enough
Glenn Singleman was “like a kid in
a candy store” when asked to join
the Five Deeps Expedition team.
“They planned to use ‘the most
significant vehicle since Apollo 11’
to visit the deepest point in the
five oceans,” he says. “An
invitation to join an expedition
always means new friendships,
new ideas, new places and new
experiences in the wilderness.”
Having had a long association with
Glenn at AG, we weren’t surprised
by his rather exclusive invitation.
As a medical doctor and multiple
recipient of AG Society adventure
awards, Glenn is highly experi-
enced in the needs of extreme
adventure. He was also part of the
only other recent attempt to reach
the bottom of the deepest ocean.
“As an expedition doctor I can’t
wait to get emails or phone calls
about groundbreaking journeys
into the unknown,” Glenn says.
“For me, the raw adventure was
supplemented by the scientific
possibilities and the responsibility
of managing the medical aspects
of an expedition thousands of
kilometres from any assistance.”
Fortunately, his professional
services weren’t needed much
and the hugely successful
expedition heralded a new era
of deep ocean exploration.
For Glenn’s exclusive account see
page 96.
You don’t have to go to the
depths of the ocean to find a
place on Earth where no-one else
has been. The planet’s terrestrial
environment still has many places
left to discover and on page 42
you can read yet another
AG-exclusive account of one of
them – Australia’s deepest cave.
It’s in central Tasmania and the
expedition to its depths wasNot es f rom
the f ield
Conservationist of the YearPresenting Partner/
Adventurer of the YearYoung Adventurer of the Year Spirit of Adventure2019 Australian Geographic
Society Gala Awards SponsorsFrom the Editor-in-chief
Lifetime of Adventure