Resource and environmental studies at the Australian National University

A heightened awareness developed in Australia, as in most countries, in the 1960s and 1970s that a nation's wellbeing and its quality of life depend fundamentally on its natural resource base. One response to this in Australia was the establishment in 1973 of the Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies (CRES) at the Australian National University, Its role was to provide objective information and advice to facilitate public understanding and to aid the formulation of effective public policies relating to resources and the environment. In 1982 this role was reaffirmed to emphasize the centre's concern with the options relating to important national resource and environmental issues in terms which have real policy significance, recognizing that this meant increased attention to the social and economic issues involved.