Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR200100005
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$36,000,000.00
Summary
Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future. This program aims to deliver unprecedented research capability for securing Antarctic environments in the face of uncertain change.
By integrating a highly skilled team with new approaches and breakthrough technologies, the program anticipates discovery science, enhanced environmental forecasting and optimised decision-making to advance Australia’s position as an influential Antarctic nation.
Expected outcomes include better environmental management ....Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future. This program aims to deliver unprecedented research capability for securing Antarctic environments in the face of uncertain change.
By integrating a highly skilled team with new approaches and breakthrough technologies, the program anticipates discovery science, enhanced environmental forecasting and optimised decision-making to advance Australia’s position as an influential Antarctic nation.
Expected outcomes include better environmental management, unparalleled strategic decision-support for an effective Antarctic Treaty, and new minds to address Antarctica’s new challenges.
Anticipated benefits are the means to transform environmental forecasting and management in the Antarctic, for Australia, and to the advantage of global security.Read moreRead less
Co-designing a resilient water-energy toolbox with Indigenous communities. The aim is to collaboratively create a toolbox of innovative, community-based approaches for water and energy management in remote Australia. This project will combine digital and cultural approaches to create a novel set of tested and evaluated tools for engaging both community and service providers in transforming water and energy use practises in remote Indigenous communities. The key output will be an empirically-test ....Co-designing a resilient water-energy toolbox with Indigenous communities. The aim is to collaboratively create a toolbox of innovative, community-based approaches for water and energy management in remote Australia. This project will combine digital and cultural approaches to create a novel set of tested and evaluated tools for engaging both community and service providers in transforming water and energy use practises in remote Indigenous communities. The key output will be an empirically-tested and user friendly water-energy toolbox tailored to reduce the currently extreme cost of supplying essential services to remote communities. Application of these outputs will significantly reduce demand on local water sources and diesel-generated energy use while creating a skill base for local employment opportunities.Read moreRead less
Future proofing and restoring Australia’s tropical seagrasses . This project aims to develop and apply a comprehensive framework for restoration of Australian tropical seagrasses using innovative approaches and partnerships. The project expects to provide coastal managers with tools to mitigate and restore seagrass to minimise effects of climate and development related loss, protecting ecosystem services measured in hundreds of millions of dollars. Expected outcomes include new techniques for tr ....Future proofing and restoring Australia’s tropical seagrasses . This project aims to develop and apply a comprehensive framework for restoration of Australian tropical seagrasses using innovative approaches and partnerships. The project expects to provide coastal managers with tools to mitigate and restore seagrass to minimise effects of climate and development related loss, protecting ecosystem services measured in hundreds of millions of dollars. Expected outcomes include new techniques for tropical seagrass restoration, a blueprint for seagrass friendly marine infrastructure, and restoration decision tools applied at local and regional scales. This will provide significant benefits by protecting seagrass ecosystem services and place Australia at the forefront of global seagrass restoration efforts.
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Promoting and managing national parks into the 21st century. National parks protect two thirds of Australia's biodiversity. If society does not regard parks as important, biodiversity loss through neglect is inevitable. This project aims to improve our understanding of the place of parks in society. Methods from marketing research, assessing and shifting the 'market position' of parks and managing the quality of visitors' experiences in parks to increase visitor loyalty, will be refined and appl ....Promoting and managing national parks into the 21st century. National parks protect two thirds of Australia's biodiversity. If society does not regard parks as important, biodiversity loss through neglect is inevitable. This project aims to improve our understanding of the place of parks in society. Methods from marketing research, assessing and shifting the 'market position' of parks and managing the quality of visitors' experiences in parks to increase visitor loyalty, will be refined and applied in two Australian states; Victoria and Western Australia. The project will build on and improve theories, methodologies and instruments for positioning and managing parks and visitors to parks in these two states and beyond, to achieve better knowledge and support for parks in 21st century society.Read moreRead less
Resilience of lake ecosystems to water-level manipulation. Which lakes recover from fluctuations in water level and which do not? Manipulations of water levels in lakes will need to intensify as droughts become more frequent. This project will develop robust ways of forecasting how lakes will respond to changes in manipulations of water levels, to minimise extinctions and maintain aesthetics and water quality.
ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrated Coral Reef Studies. The overarching aim of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrated Coral Reef Studies is to provide the scientific knowledge necessary for sustaining ecosystem goods and services of the worlds coral reefs, which support the livelihoods and food security of millions of people in the tropics. The Centre will enhance Australia's global leadership in coral reef science through three ambitious research programs addressing the future of coral ....ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrated Coral Reef Studies. The overarching aim of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrated Coral Reef Studies is to provide the scientific knowledge necessary for sustaining ecosystem goods and services of the worlds coral reefs, which support the livelihoods and food security of millions of people in the tropics. The Centre will enhance Australia's global leadership in coral reef science through three ambitious research programs addressing the future of coral reefs and their ability to adapt to change. A key outcome of the research will be providing tangible benefits to all Australians by building bridges between the natural and social sciences, strengthening capacity, and informing and supporting transformative changes in coral reef governance and management.Read moreRead less
Optimising fire management for a resilient future. Optimising fire management for a resilient future. This project aims to quantify how changes in fire frequency, fire season, invasive weeds and climate interact to affect native species’ persistence. Fire risk management is a conundrum for agencies responsible both for protection of life and property and biodiversity conservation. Global change factors (rainfall decline, warming, invasive species, ecosystem fragmentation) interact with changes i ....Optimising fire management for a resilient future. Optimising fire management for a resilient future. This project aims to quantify how changes in fire frequency, fire season, invasive weeds and climate interact to affect native species’ persistence. Fire risk management is a conundrum for agencies responsible both for protection of life and property and biodiversity conservation. Global change factors (rainfall decline, warming, invasive species, ecosystem fragmentation) interact with changes in fire regime (interval and season) associated with prescribed burning to affect native species’ regeneration capacity. Anticipated outcomes are fuel reduction burning policy and management changes that balance and minimise risk of fire to economy, society and biodiversity.Read moreRead less
Healing Country: integrating knowledge systems to meet climate challenges. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are currently experiencing severe environmental challenges related to a changing climate. Led by Aboriginal communities, this project aims to integrate traditional knowledges and environmental and health data to create community story-data maps. These interactive, online maps will be a unique and powerful blend of information, providing a rich evidence base, decision-suppo ....Healing Country: integrating knowledge systems to meet climate challenges. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are currently experiencing severe environmental challenges related to a changing climate. Led by Aboriginal communities, this project aims to integrate traditional knowledges and environmental and health data to create community story-data maps. These interactive, online maps will be a unique and powerful blend of information, providing a rich evidence base, decision-support and communication tool to inform the co-design of local climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience plans. The project aims to give agency to Aboriginal communities in leading a systems change process to reduce environmental risks and strengthen health and wellbeing.Read moreRead less
Beyond fire frequency: understanding fire season for ecosystem management. This project aims to investigate how the season of fire, arguably one of the biggest changes brought about by fire management, can impact ecosystems and the persistence of threatened species. The project expects to generate new yet fundamental knowledge of how the timing of fire has shifted, using a multidisciplinary team with expertise in remote sensing and fire ecology, and experimentally assess fire season effects on s ....Beyond fire frequency: understanding fire season for ecosystem management. This project aims to investigate how the season of fire, arguably one of the biggest changes brought about by fire management, can impact ecosystems and the persistence of threatened species. The project expects to generate new yet fundamental knowledge of how the timing of fire has shifted, using a multidisciplinary team with expertise in remote sensing and fire ecology, and experimentally assess fire season effects on soil properties and plant persistence. The project aims to enhance capacity of conservation agencies across Australia to effectively implement fires while maintaining biodiversity values. This should provide significant benefits for informed management of the large numbers of threatened species under their protection.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions. Despite facing the sixth global mass extinction of species, most conservation management is unevaluated and inefficient. The ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions will provide international research leadership in tackling the complex problems of environmental management and monitoring in an uncertain world. Working through six Australian universities and six international organisations, the Centre will forge new approaches and ....ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions. Despite facing the sixth global mass extinction of species, most conservation management is unevaluated and inefficient. The ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions will provide international research leadership in tackling the complex problems of environmental management and monitoring in an uncertain world. Working through six Australian universities and six international organisations, the Centre will forge new approaches and tools from ecology, mathematics, statistics, economics and the social sciences. It will lead the world in developing and delivering predictive models and decision-making approaches to improve outcomes in conservation.Read moreRead less