Wetlands in a dry land : more-than-human histories of Australia's Murray-Darling Basin / Emily O'Gorman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

O'Gorman, Emily, author.

Series:

Weyerhaeuser environmental book

Weyerhaeuser environmental books

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Human ecology--Australia--Murray River Watershed (N.S.W.-S.A.).

Human ecology.

Human ecology--Australia--Darling River Watershed (Qld. and N.S.W.).

Nature--Effect of human beings on--Australia--Murray River Watershed (N.S.W.-S.A.).

Nature.

Nature--Effect of human beings on--Australia--Darling River Watershed (Qld. and N.S.W.).

Wetland management--Australia--Murray River Watershed (N.S.W.-S.A.).

Wetland management.

Wetland management--Australia--Darling River Watershed (Qld. and N.S.W.).

Ecology.

Nature--Effect of human beings on.

Murray River Watershed (N.S.W.-S.A.)--Environmental conditions.

Murray River Watershed (N.S.W.-S.A.).

Darling River Watershed (Qld. and N.S.W.)--Environmental conditions.

Darling River Watershed (Qld. and N.S.W.).

Australia--Darling River Watershed.

Australia--Murray River Watershed.

Physical Description:

xvii, 261 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Seattle : University of Washington Press, [2021]

Summary:

"In the name of agriculture, urban growth, and disease control, humans have drained, filled, or otherwise destroyed nearly 87 percent of the world's wetlands over the past three centuries. Unintended consequences include biodiversity loss, poor water quality, and the erosion of cultural sites, and only in the past few decades have wetlands been widely recognized as worth preserving. Emily O'Gorman asks, What has counted as a wetland, for whom, and with what consequences? Using the Murray-Darling Basin-a massive river system in eastern Australia that includes over 30,000 wetland areas-as a case study and drawing on archival research and original interviews, O'Gorman examines how people and animals have shaped wetlands from the late nineteenth century to today. She illuminates deeper dynamics by relating how Aboriginal peoples acted then and now as custodians of the landscape, despite the policies of the Australian government; how the movements of water birds affected farmers; and how mosquitoes have defied efforts to fully understand, let alone control, them. Situating the region's history within global environmental humanities conversations, O'Gorman argues that we need to understand wetlands as socioecological landscapes in order to create new kinds of relationships with and futures for these places"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Weaving : postcolonial and multispecies politics of plants

Leaking : containment and recalcitrance of swamps

Infecting : irrigation, mosquitoes, and malaria in wartime

Crossing : wildlife in agriculture

Enclosing : pelicans, protected areas, and private property

Migrating : wetlands, transcontinental bird movements, and global environmental crisis

Rippling : capitalism, seals, and baselines.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: O'Gorman, Emily, Wetlands in a dry land

ISBN:

9780295749037

0295749032

9780295749150

0295749156

OCLC:

1202751022

Publisher Number:

90102627361