Letting the plants speak: Law, landscape and conservation.

Area of Science:

• Urban ecology
• Environmental governance
• Paleoecology

Background:

• Botany Wetlands are a remnant coastal freshwater ecosystem in inner-Sydney, Australia.
• They provide crucial ecosystem services: human health benefits, stormwater filtration, flood mitigation, and habitat for native flora, fauna, and migratory birds.
• These include endangered ecological communities protected by legislation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the ecological history of Botany Wetlands using paleoecological data.
• To analyze the impact of governance structures on the wetland's current state and ecological character.
• To propose a framework for maintaining ecosystem services in complex socio-legal-biophysical systems.

Main Methods:

• Paleoecological data analysis to reconstruct the historical ecological conditions.
• Examination of legal and management frameworks influencing the wetlands.
• Integration of ecological history with governance analysis.

Main Results:

• The current state of Botany Wetlands significantly differs from its long-term ecological character.
• Inflexible regulatory structures have continuously reshaped the wetland system.
• The wetlands function as a hybrid socio-legal-biophysical system.

Conclusions:

• Maintaining ecosystem services requires a critical understanding of power dynamics and physical processes.
• Current management, driven by governance, has led to ecological divergence from the natural state.
• A nuanced approach considering both social and ecological factors is essential for effective wetland management.