Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
clear example of discursive ai nity with the government scientists, which
is also evident in the pastoralists' adherence to the story-line of burning
as desirable in terms of reducing wildi re risks. Discursive ai nity with
Aborigines is also achieved by asserting that the economic benei ts derived
by pastoralists from cattle fodder through post-i re new growth and
safe mustering of their herds are the same as those traditionally derived
by Aborigines. As well as the direct economic benei ts from pastoral-
ism, burning is also endorsed as economically desirable for encouraging
tourism by clearing the ground for hiking and attracting charismatic
species such as wallabies and kangaroos to the fresh new after-growth.
So the story-lines analysis provides some basis for understanding the
strength of the pro-burning discourse coalition. It can also help understand
the weakness of the anti-burning coalition. The story-lines of this coalition
focus on opposing the dominant discourse instead of building links within
the coalition. The aim of the proponents of the anti-i re discourse tends
to focus chiel y on discrediting the government scientist story-line of i re
being ecologically desirable. The national parks agency, the QPWS, tends
to constitute the main focus for attack. The Wattle Hills representative
promotes a story-line of 'i re as destructive to life', which is diametrically
opposite to the government scientists' story-line. The government 'i re
management' line is directly confronted and instead a non-interventionist,
'let nature take its course' line is promoted. Both independent scientists
advance a story-line of i re as environmentally damaging. Again, a direct
attempt is made to deconstruct the government scientists' story-line of
i re as ecologically desirable by highlighting the degree of uncertainty sur-
rounding current scientii c knowledge of the impacts of i re. Policies that
involve using i re are described as 'stabbing in the dark' (p. 43). The 'fuel
reduction' story-line is also attacked on the basis of negative impacts on
soil fertility as argued by the Wattle Hills representative. The argument
is that without i re, dead matter has a chance to decompose, resulting
in increased soil fertility, as opposed to being burnt and therefore losing
biomass through combustion.
Little discursive connection is evident between the 'let nature take its
own course' Wattle Hills discourse and the strong scientii c rationality
of the independent scientists, with their attempts to link the anti-burning
story-line to other global environmental story-lines. While the Wattle Hills
residents highlight their own credentials as self-sui ciency pioneers, the
independent scientists have signii cant academic credentials and a strong
professional involvement with Cape York including, in one case, having
worked on television documentaries on bird life in the Cape. The rational,
scientii c tone of their representations rel ects their scientii c background
with extensive intertextual reference made to scientii c papers in support of
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