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  Heading overseas with INFFER

Heading overseas with INFFER

18 June, 2010 by Debbie Brace

Ecoedge update

In about a month’s time, I’ll be heading to Florence, Italy, on behalf of the INFFER team to assist with the very first northern hemisphere application of INFFER. The project is being run by staff and student(s) at the University of Florence as a trial to see how effective INFFER – an asset-based project prioritisation and planning tool (see here for more) – is in the environmental and socio-political contexts of Italy. The asset we’ll be focussing on is the Lucciola Bella nature reserve, located southwest of Pienza. Formations within the 1165 hectare reserve provide habitat for rare plants and wildlife, particularly birds.

After helping out with the project in Italy, I’ll be spending some time in the UK, scoping out potential partnerships for more INFFER trials. As well as its application for environmental assets, I’m interested to see if INFFER can be used to help prioritise built heritage conservation projects. There are significant similarities between the two in terms of the limited amount of resources available for projects and the unlimited demand for those resources, so I’ll also be investigating interest from heritage institutions.

Finally, towards the end of the trip, I’ll be presenting at the Society for Ecological Restoration conference in Avignon, France. In addition to covering the application process and benefits of the tool to users, I’ll also present a case study on the INFFER assessments Ecoedge undertook on the ‘Fire Sensitive Vegetation Communities of the Hamersley Ranges’ for Rangelands NRM. I decided to use this site for the case study as most conference attendees will be aware of the mineral-rich northwest of Western Australia but might be unaware of the incredible natural landscapes that feature throughout the area. Sharon Hann from the Karratha office of the Department of Environment and Conservation has provided me with a fantastic selection of photos to use in the presentation – the combination of amazing scenery and her brilliant photography are sure to make an impact. Thanks Sharon!

I’ll be posting updates throughout the trip so stay tuned for some no-doubt interesting reports, reviews, stories and serendipitous happenings.

Well, that’s a wrap. Until next time…

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