Climate Change, Industrial Structure and the Knowledge Economy: Key Issues for an Effective Response on Greenhouse Gases. The objectives of this project are to undertake a major, long term study of the impact of global structural change on greenhouse gas emissions and on climate change, and to develop a detailed knowledge base concerning trade in embodied emissions. It is hoped that the knowledge generated will both inform global responses to this vital problem and contribute to the continuing d ....Climate Change, Industrial Structure and the Knowledge Economy: Key Issues for an Effective Response on Greenhouse Gases. The objectives of this project are to undertake a major, long term study of the impact of global structural change on greenhouse gas emissions and on climate change, and to develop a detailed knowledge base concerning trade in embodied emissions. It is hoped that the knowledge generated will both inform global responses to this vital problem and contribute to the continuing development of effective responses within Australia. The output - a book and many papers - will be directed in part to contribute to the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report.Read moreRead less
Community Engagement for Localised Greenhouse Reduction: a local government demand-management model for business and household water, energy and waste reduction. New integrated community strategies are needed to deal with the imperative of reducing Australia's carbon footprint. With an explicit focus on enhancing community engagement for localised greenhouse reduction, this project will generate important analysis and policy prescriptions for demand reduction strategies. The development of endur ....Community Engagement for Localised Greenhouse Reduction: a local government demand-management model for business and household water, energy and waste reduction. New integrated community strategies are needed to deal with the imperative of reducing Australia's carbon footprint. With an explicit focus on enhancing community engagement for localised greenhouse reduction, this project will generate important analysis and policy prescriptions for demand reduction strategies. The development of enduring sustainable environment attitudinal and behavioural change is central to the National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development, which sees a clear role for governments, business and individuals in progressing ecologically sustainable development. The results will contribute to developing new place-based integrated eco-sustainability models for implementation by local/state governments.Read moreRead less
Responding to Climate Change: Australia's Environmental Law and Regulatory Framework. Climate change presents Australia with unparalleled sustainability challenges. Impacts on environmental resources will require an integrated legal and socio-economic regulatory response. An effective and adaptable environmental law framework will be crucial for adaptation and mitigation measures. The project addresses this need by undertaking a comprehensive, interdisciplinary evaluation of Australia's legal ca ....Responding to Climate Change: Australia's Environmental Law and Regulatory Framework. Climate change presents Australia with unparalleled sustainability challenges. Impacts on environmental resources will require an integrated legal and socio-economic regulatory response. An effective and adaptable environmental law framework will be crucial for adaptation and mitigation measures. The project addresses this need by undertaking a comprehensive, interdisciplinary evaluation of Australia's legal capacity to respond to climate change, so identifying appropriate governance structures and regulatory tools. This analysis is vital to positioning Australian environmental law to manage climate change impacts and associated social, ecological and economic costs and to ensure compliance with international obligations.Read moreRead less
The evolution of dispersal on range edges. The rate at which an invasive species spreads, and the ability of a native species to adapt to environmental change, are both contingent on the dispersal ability of the species. Dispersal ability, however, evolves rapidly on the edge of a species' range. The rapid evolution of dispersal, therefore, determines the eventual range-limits of invasive species, as well as of native species responding to changing conditions. This research will provide tools ....The evolution of dispersal on range edges. The rate at which an invasive species spreads, and the ability of a native species to adapt to environmental change, are both contingent on the dispersal ability of the species. Dispersal ability, however, evolves rapidly on the edge of a species' range. The rapid evolution of dispersal, therefore, determines the eventual range-limits of invasive species, as well as of native species responding to changing conditions. This research will provide tools with which to predict the direction and rate of dispersal evolution on range-edges. The results of this work will, thus, massively facilitate management of invasive species and climate change.Read moreRead less
Reengineering a dynamic vegetation model to explore the stability of Australian terrestrial carbon. Overseas models do not represent Australian biophysical processes well: our flora and fauna are unique and our soils are old and nutrient poor. In contrast, the National Carbon Accounting System (NCAS) is a world-class framework for estimating current carbon processes. By building NCAS expertise into an overseas model of soil and vegetation processes we can develop the capacity to increase our con ....Reengineering a dynamic vegetation model to explore the stability of Australian terrestrial carbon. Overseas models do not represent Australian biophysical processes well: our flora and fauna are unique and our soils are old and nutrient poor. In contrast, the National Carbon Accounting System (NCAS) is a world-class framework for estimating current carbon processes. By building NCAS expertise into an overseas model of soil and vegetation processes we can develop the capacity to increase our confidence in future projections of carbon and vegetation change. Our proposal, linking Universities, CSIRO and the Australian Greenhouse Office establishes a team that is internationally competitive. It will enhance local expertise and local model development to ensure national policy development is underpinned by world-class science.Read moreRead less
Global Citizenship and the Agency of the Museum Sector in Climate Change Interventions. Australia plays an important role in the global response to climate change. This project will benefit Australian communities by building capacity to more effectively respond to and make informed decisions about climate change by looking to the museum sector as change-agents, well-equipped to operate as a global network. It will develop institutional capacity to communicate high-level state of the art knowledg ....Global Citizenship and the Agency of the Museum Sector in Climate Change Interventions. Australia plays an important role in the global response to climate change. This project will benefit Australian communities by building capacity to more effectively respond to and make informed decisions about climate change by looking to the museum sector as change-agents, well-equipped to operate as a global network. It will develop institutional capacity to communicate high-level state of the art knowledge about climate change to produce better informed citizens; provide forums where diverse interests can meet; and produce new avenues for Australian communities to interact and contribute to local and global debates and decision-making on climate change.Read moreRead less
Assimilation of trace atmospheric constituents for climate (ATACC): Linking chemical weather and climate. Changes in atmospheric ozone and carbon dioxide affect many aspects of surface climate from changes in ultraviolet radiation (ozone) to long-term changes in temperature (carbon dioxide). Better mapping of these gases will help us understand, predict and manage these changes. For ozone, it will clarify the link between ozone and surface weather. For carbon dioxide, improved knowledge of the ....Assimilation of trace atmospheric constituents for climate (ATACC): Linking chemical weather and climate. Changes in atmospheric ozone and carbon dioxide affect many aspects of surface climate from changes in ultraviolet radiation (ozone) to long-term changes in temperature (carbon dioxide). Better mapping of these gases will help us understand, predict and manage these changes. For ozone, it will clarify the link between ozone and surface weather. For carbon dioxide, improved knowledge of the impact of tropical deforestation, land clearing and changes in the southern ocean on atmospheric CO2 will support sustainable development in Australia and our region. The project hence addresses the priority goal 'Responding to climate change and variability` under the National Research Priority 'An Environmentally Sustainable Australia`.
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Testing Theories of Historical Divergence using South Eastern Australian Reptiles. The processes that serve to create species diversity must also be preserved in order to allow evolution to continue. My study will clarify the number and distribution of water skink species in south eastern Australia, a biologically diverse, yet under studied area of Australia. I will also be looking at processes, such as dispersal, that determine patterns of species distribution over time. These lizards are also ....Testing Theories of Historical Divergence using South Eastern Australian Reptiles. The processes that serve to create species diversity must also be preserved in order to allow evolution to continue. My study will clarify the number and distribution of water skink species in south eastern Australia, a biologically diverse, yet under studied area of Australia. I will also be looking at processes, such as dispersal, that determine patterns of species distribution over time. These lizards are also found on mountain tops and may be affected by global warming. Understanding how climate change has affected these lizards in the past may help us to predict how climate changes will affect them in the future and better enable us to conserve these and other species in the future.Read moreRead less
The Origin and Development of the Tongan Maritime Empire. This project aims to understand the nature and development of the Tongan maritime empire, the most complex socio-political entity to exist in prehistoric Oceania. Extensive excavations of monumental structures and other sites throughout the central Pacific will create the first cultural sequence of the empire and a comprehensive radiocarbon chronology. The excavations will concentrate on sites of cross-cultural contact between indigeno ....The Origin and Development of the Tongan Maritime Empire. This project aims to understand the nature and development of the Tongan maritime empire, the most complex socio-political entity to exist in prehistoric Oceania. Extensive excavations of monumental structures and other sites throughout the central Pacific will create the first cultural sequence of the empire and a comprehensive radiocarbon chronology. The excavations will concentrate on sites of cross-cultural contact between indigenous peoples of the region. In addition traditional and documentary historical records will be reanalysed. A substantial monograph will assess the significance of these new Pacific data in relation to our understanding of maritime empires around the world.Read moreRead less
Evaluating the adaptive potential of organisms to respond to environmental change. The program utilizes technological advances to develop a gene inventory for climatic change adaptation, using, as model system, the vinegar fly from divergent climates along eastern Australia. The inventory will result in new methods for monitoring climatic change impact on populations, and for testing adaptive potential of organisms from threatened habitats. A key hypothesis is that these organisms have restricte ....Evaluating the adaptive potential of organisms to respond to environmental change. The program utilizes technological advances to develop a gene inventory for climatic change adaptation, using, as model system, the vinegar fly from divergent climates along eastern Australia. The inventory will result in new methods for monitoring climatic change impact on populations, and for testing adaptive potential of organisms from threatened habitats. A key hypothesis is that these organisms have restricted genetic options to counter environmental change, increasing extinction risk. The program investigates genetic adaptation to pollutants in midges, a key group for monitoring water health. By assessing evolutionary potential and DNA species markers, biological signatures of aquatic pollutants should result.Read moreRead less