A framework for model emulation and ensemble modelling. For improved water resource management there is a need for further development of appropriate hydrologic models. This project will undertake a collection of hydrologic modelling activities performed at multiple catchments in Australia. A modeling framework that is flexible, extendible and accounts for potential forecast uncertainties will be developed.
Advancing resilience theory and practice for water resource management. Water resources in Australia and worldwide are under severe stress, for example from drought and water demand. This project aims to investigate how water and other natural resources can be managed to build resilience to such stresses. The project expects to develop advances in resilience theory that generate new model-based tools for resilient decision-making. These advances will be tested in a model of water resource manage ....Advancing resilience theory and practice for water resource management. Water resources in Australia and worldwide are under severe stress, for example from drought and water demand. This project aims to investigate how water and other natural resources can be managed to build resilience to such stresses. The project expects to develop advances in resilience theory that generate new model-based tools for resilient decision-making. These advances will be tested in a model of water resource management in north-central Victoria. Expected outcomes of the project include increased decision-maker capability to respond to threats to water and other natural resources. Such outcomes will help ensure the sustainability of increasingly highly stressed natural resources in Australia and worldwide.Read moreRead less
Delivering Benefits from Nature in a Highly Connected World . This project aims to improve knowledge of the implications of global flows of ecosystem services (the benefits people receive from nature) for achieving sustainable land use by developing novel predictive models and decision tools. The project is significant because it will resolve the complex challenge of assessing land use strategies when land use change has impacts on ecosystem service provision locally and globally. Expected outco ....Delivering Benefits from Nature in a Highly Connected World . This project aims to improve knowledge of the implications of global flows of ecosystem services (the benefits people receive from nature) for achieving sustainable land use by developing novel predictive models and decision tools. The project is significant because it will resolve the complex challenge of assessing land use strategies when land use change has impacts on ecosystem service provision locally and globally. Expected outcomes will be new evidence for the effect of land use change on the global distribution of ecosystem service benefits and how ecosystem services trade-off against each other. This should provide significant benefits by enabling better assessment of land use policy in an increasingly highly connected world.Read moreRead less
Integrating the conservation and ecosystem-service value of Australia's catchments. This project addresses the Priority Goal of Sustainable Use of Biodiversity by explicitly linking the intrinsic value of biodiversity and supporting ecosystems with the services they provide to humanity (e.g. carbon storage and nutrient cycling). It will employ a comprehensive, innovative approach to integrating conservation, market and non-market values of land holdings in Australia's catchments using the concep ....Integrating the conservation and ecosystem-service value of Australia's catchments. This project addresses the Priority Goal of Sustainable Use of Biodiversity by explicitly linking the intrinsic value of biodiversity and supporting ecosystems with the services they provide to humanity (e.g. carbon storage and nutrient cycling). It will employ a comprehensive, innovative approach to integrating conservation, market and non-market values of land holdings in Australia's catchments using the concept of nature's services. Through extensive collaboration among leading scientists and land managers, the project will identify sites of high value requiring special attention, yield important theoretical advancements to how we value ecosystems, and provide practical and easily applied guidelines for land managers. Read moreRead less
Recasting solutions to the Murray-Darling Basin crisis: recognising and valuing the role of Indigenous people. This project will investigate the significance of water to Indigenous people of the Murray-Darling Basin, examine the effect of changes in water governance and management on Indigenous communities and draw on international and local models to evaluate options for effective and equitable means of addressing Indigenous claims for water and recognition. It will test the feasibility of Indi ....Recasting solutions to the Murray-Darling Basin crisis: recognising and valuing the role of Indigenous people. This project will investigate the significance of water to Indigenous people of the Murray-Darling Basin, examine the effect of changes in water governance and management on Indigenous communities and draw on international and local models to evaluate options for effective and equitable means of addressing Indigenous claims for water and recognition. It will test the feasibility of Indigenous water plans to address Indigenous values and knowledge, give effect to Indigenous management objectives and articulate with statutory water plans. Results will contribute to geographical theory, transform water planning processes and enhance Indigenous capacity to influence allocation decisions, water policy and regional development solutions.Read moreRead less
Better water management through more focus on ecological and social sciences. Current water resources management, focusing on gains of economic efficiency in the short term under the assumption of steady-state conditions, has generally failed to respond to both catchment environmental degradation and to the increasing complexity of human–environment interactions. This project will develop a new approach to water resources management by relating management practices based on ecological understand ....Better water management through more focus on ecological and social sciences. Current water resources management, focusing on gains of economic efficiency in the short term under the assumption of steady-state conditions, has generally failed to respond to both catchment environmental degradation and to the increasing complexity of human–environment interactions. This project will develop a new approach to water resources management by relating management practices based on ecological understanding to the social mechanisms behind these practices at water catchments. It will improve the predictability and precision of water resources management and increase our ability to maintain our options for a sustainable future. This will have a profound effect on catchment sustainability, a globally significant problem.Read moreRead less
Representing low-frequency variability in hydro-climatic simulations for water resources planning and management in a changing climate. Simulating local hydro-climatology under likely climate change allows risk assessment of existing and future water infrastructure, along with the planning protocols needed to adapt to the changes ahead. This study aims to develop the tools needed to simulate local hydro-climatology, providing a basis for securing water for the generations to come.
Where's the beef? A systems model for taming a wicked environmental problem. Demand for beef is increasing dramatically, particularly in Asia. This project aims to build systems models of local environmental impacts of beef production coupled with models of global beef trade to analyse production and policy scenarios. Beef is the food commodity with the largest ecological footprint, and increased production will have globally significant impacts on land and water resources, biodiversity, and cli ....Where's the beef? A systems model for taming a wicked environmental problem. Demand for beef is increasing dramatically, particularly in Asia. This project aims to build systems models of local environmental impacts of beef production coupled with models of global beef trade to analyse production and policy scenarios. Beef is the food commodity with the largest ecological footprint, and increased production will have globally significant impacts on land and water resources, biodiversity, and climate. The scale of these impacts depends on where and how cattle production occurs. Outcomes of this research include a framework for projecting regional and global ecological impacts of domestic cattle production policies, allowing informed decisions that consider and benefit environmental and socio-economic values.Read moreRead less
Identifying and learning from bright spots in coral reef governance. This project aims to solve the global problem of unsustainable coral reef fisheries by locating and learning from ‘bright spots’ in reefs. Bright spots are reefs in better condition than they should be, given the multiple drivers (e.g. markets and human population pressures) to which they are exposed. This project will use a global-scale analysis to identify bright spots, and field-based research to uncover the enabling social, ....Identifying and learning from bright spots in coral reef governance. This project aims to solve the global problem of unsustainable coral reef fisheries by locating and learning from ‘bright spots’ in reefs. Bright spots are reefs in better condition than they should be, given the multiple drivers (e.g. markets and human population pressures) to which they are exposed. This project will use a global-scale analysis to identify bright spots, and field-based research to uncover the enabling social, economic and institutional conditions. Understanding these enabling conditions should help to formulate policy levers for more sustainable reef governance in other regions.Read moreRead less
From Biodiversity to Health: Performing the first genetic audits of Australia. This project will establish a new technology for the rapid measurement of environmental biodiversity, whether that be in natural resources such as forests, or pathogens in water supplies or hospitals. The method is fast, low-cost and will provide much higher resolution than current methods. It will provide some of the first ever comprehensive environmental impact assessments, permitting responsible resource developmen ....From Biodiversity to Health: Performing the first genetic audits of Australia. This project will establish a new technology for the rapid measurement of environmental biodiversity, whether that be in natural resources such as forests, or pathogens in water supplies or hospitals. The method is fast, low-cost and will provide much higher resolution than current methods. It will provide some of the first ever comprehensive environmental impact assessments, permitting responsible resource development with major benefits to industry and the economy. It also provides a common platform for government agencies, from Department of Environment and Heritage to the Federal Police, and will create new tools to improve water management, biosecurity, forensics/policing and human health, as reflected by the wide range of industry partners supporting the project.Read moreRead less