Resilience: can our environment keep bouncing back?

Can we produce enough food for the expected population of 10 billion later this century? How are scientists addressing threats such as cereal rust that can wipe out entire crops? Might forests eventually stop regenerating if more fires of the type seen on Black Saturday occur?. These topics and other major issues will be debated at the University of Sydney this Friday 8 July at the symposium Resilience: can our environment keep bouncing back? Presented by the Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources , this multi-disciplinary conference will be attended by policy makers and members of industry, and will feature leading scientists from Australia and overseas. Conference speakers include: - Professor Jeff Amthor , University of Sydney, speaking on Is agronomy the most resilient of all human endeavours? Population models project a 33 percent increase in population by 2050 which, when coupled with increased standards of living in developing nations, indicates we may need to increase crop productivity by 50 percent in less than 40 years, argues Professor Amthor. Professor Amthor believes "scientifically there are no insurmountable obstacles to increasing global crop production up to 50 percent. But whether that increase can be expected given present economic and political 'issues' is an open question." "The environment is productive enough for our immediate needs, but it could be pushed beyond its limits by future human actions. We can provide ample high-quality food, but will we?