Finding new economic drivers for Sea Change (coastal) and similar rapidly growing communities. This project is of major benefit to developing more environmentally sensitive but diverse economies for coastal communities. Coastal communities are commuter or tourism dominated, each of these issues generate both current and future liabilities for the communities and the nation.
Living with Heritage: Integrating time, place and culture for World Heritage conservation. World Heritage conservation in developing countries is challenged by conflicting demands of preservation, economic development and social equity. Managing these demands requires monitoring of the dynamic interaction between natural environment, cultural heritage and contemporary society. Angkor, the great World Heritage site in Cambodia, epitomises the challenge. A joint Cambodian and international team wi ....Living with Heritage: Integrating time, place and culture for World Heritage conservation. World Heritage conservation in developing countries is challenged by conflicting demands of preservation, economic development and social equity. Managing these demands requires monitoring of the dynamic interaction between natural environment, cultural heritage and contemporary society. Angkor, the great World Heritage site in Cambodia, epitomises the challenge. A joint Cambodian and international team will create a time-based, spatial information monitoring system for site management using Angkor as a test case. The new methodology integrates past and future research, community values, national policies and international heritage best-practice. Research, management and governance come together to reconcile the competing demands of living with heritage.Read moreRead less
Improving our understanding of the effects of low carbon policies on the Australian economy and regions. Climate change mitigation policies at a national, and also at rural and regional level, is being demanded. Accurate, unbiased, and open debate with clear assumptions is critical. Greater student interest and expertise in the analytical skills is vital. More than one national model must be used and new models must incorporate more detailed data, especially on the interaction between the econo ....Improving our understanding of the effects of low carbon policies on the Australian economy and regions. Climate change mitigation policies at a national, and also at rural and regional level, is being demanded. Accurate, unbiased, and open debate with clear assumptions is critical. Greater student interest and expertise in the analytical skills is vital. More than one national model must be used and new models must incorporate more detailed data, especially on the interaction between the economy and the environment. Unfortunately, Australia has fallen behind other developed countries in building this capacity.Read moreRead less
Advancing the Ecological Footprint for Application to Policy Development. To be effective, policies that promote Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) must operate at many levels. For example, it is of little consequence if individual consumers are empowered to achieve greater sustainability but the capability of corporations and governments to do so remains limited. Our carefully chosen industry collaborations will ensure that effective environmental policy development can be implemented a ....Advancing the Ecological Footprint for Application to Policy Development. To be effective, policies that promote Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) must operate at many levels. For example, it is of little consequence if individual consumers are empowered to achieve greater sustainability but the capability of corporations and governments to do so remains limited. Our carefully chosen industry collaborations will ensure that effective environmental policy development can be implemented at the global, national, state and corporate level. This will allow us, as a nation, to better protect the resources upon which the environment and the economy rely. This research will also allow Australia to be a world leader in the implementation of sustainable development.Read moreRead less
More than a Roof Overhead: Meeting the Need for a Sustainable Housing System in Remote Indigenous Communities. Many Indigenous Australians live in substandard and over-crowded accommodation, and experience poor health, education, family stability and child-safety outcomes as a result. The lack of improvement in this situation is largely due to levels of funding and approaches to construction and management inadequate to the scale of the problem. This situation is changing and new funding and po ....More than a Roof Overhead: Meeting the Need for a Sustainable Housing System in Remote Indigenous Communities. Many Indigenous Australians live in substandard and over-crowded accommodation, and experience poor health, education, family stability and child-safety outcomes as a result. The lack of improvement in this situation is largely due to levels of funding and approaches to construction and management inadequate to the scale of the problem. This situation is changing and new funding and policies are being established. The researchers will work alongside housing providers and selected Indigenous communities in Western Australia and Northern Territory to develop procurement, construction and housing management practices that will meet the critical need for more affordable, appropriate and sustainable housing.Read moreRead less
Water and Energy profiles for Sydney: Towards Sustainability. The critical problem of urban sustainability is addressed in collaboration with NSW Landcom. The sustainability problem in Australian cities arises largely because urban management systems have failed to account for the effects of the built environment on water and energy consumption patterns. Cities such as Sydney, and its western regions, require urgent attention due to huge foreseen urban growth and development. By examining the ne ....Water and Energy profiles for Sydney: Towards Sustainability. The critical problem of urban sustainability is addressed in collaboration with NSW Landcom. The sustainability problem in Australian cities arises largely because urban management systems have failed to account for the effects of the built environment on water and energy consumption patterns. Cities such as Sydney, and its western regions, require urgent attention due to huge foreseen urban growth and development. By examining the nexus between built environment composition, socio-economic factors and ecological 'load' new insights to this important matter are gained. Results will provide new strategies and models for urban management systems that will enhance environmental efficiency and effectiveness. Read moreRead less
Sustainable development in urban environments: maximising biodiversity conservation where people live. This project directly addresses the National Research Priority of An Environmentally Sustainable Australia. This is achieved by a pioneering approach that links socio-economic variables with settlement design and biodiversity status. Human settlements have substantial capacity to support a rich biodiversity. Developing ecologically sensitive management strategies here will not only ensure the c ....Sustainable development in urban environments: maximising biodiversity conservation where people live. This project directly addresses the National Research Priority of An Environmentally Sustainable Australia. This is achieved by a pioneering approach that links socio-economic variables with settlement design and biodiversity status. Human settlements have substantial capacity to support a rich biodiversity. Developing ecologically sensitive management strategies here will not only ensure the conservation of many native species, but also provide considerable opportunities for interaction between people and nature. This can have significant social benefits including improved health, increased community well-being and greater understanding of the environment. It also ensures ready access to a broad range of ecosystem goods and services.Read moreRead less