Turbulent times for urban nature: conserving and re-inventing nature in Australian cities

Interest in urban nature has grown rapidly over recent years in Australia, and not just amongst ecologists and conservationists. Policy makers, social scientists, community groups, the media and urban residents in general have also begun to think about, represent and interact with the 'natural' elements of cities in new ways. There has been a proliferation of perspectives about urban environments, and a proliferation of debates about the sustainable management of animals, plants, water, climate and landscapes in cities. Such debates are indicative not only of an unsettling of the terms of nature in Australia, but also of an unsettling of the terms of Australian society by global social flows. Having placed Australian cities in the context of this turbulence, the paper considers implications of the contested status of urban nature for the practice of nature conservation. It is argued that as they engage with the ideas, values and behaviours of urban residents, nature conservation professionals will be increasingly challenged to broaden their understanding of nature conservation and to question the present dominance of the goal of biodiversity conservation.