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AEGIS seminar: Art, science and tropical environments
04 March 2021



Associate Professor Philip Samartzis (Chair) with Professor William Laurance (James Cook University), Dr Betty Sargeant (PluginHUMAN) and Dr Debbie Symons (RMIT University).

Note, due to tech issues, this seminar is missing the first two minutes.

About the talk


Tropical environments are under increasing pressure in contemporary society with the tropics losing over 11.9 million hectares of tree cover in 2019. This loss equates to a football pitch of primary rainforest felled every six seconds.

Rainforests are biodiversity hotspots, with more species found within these niche environments than anywhere else on the planet. These remaining 'wild' spaces also capture and store gigatonnes of carbon, which is released as carbon dioxide during deforestation events.


Image: Debbie Symons

Acknowledgement of Country


AEGIS acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we work. We respectfully acknowledge their Elders, past and present. We also acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands and waters across Australia and its Dreaming.