Analysis of Possible Rules for Interstate Water Trading by the Australian Capital Territory. Rules will be studied and modelled for allowing ACT water trading with other states, within an agreed abstraction cap. The aim is to find administrative, constraining and price-setting rules that maximise the economic gain of trading to Australia, bearing in mind environmental constraints, infrastructure costs, transaction costs, and equity. Innovative challenges for the rules will be allowing ACT to se ....Analysis of Possible Rules for Interstate Water Trading by the Australian Capital Territory. Rules will be studied and modelled for allowing ACT water trading with other states, within an agreed abstraction cap. The aim is to find administrative, constraining and price-setting rules that maximise the economic gain of trading to Australia, bearing in mind environmental constraints, infrastructure costs, transaction costs, and equity. Innovative challenges for the rules will be allowing ACT to sell water now but buy it back later, thus providing for long term population growth; and handling the differences between ACT's spare storage capacity and urban uses, and the downstream irrigation uses with which trade is most likely.Read moreRead less
Integrating Economic Valuation and Water Quality Modelling for Improving Management of Coastal Catchments. This project will apply and integrate water quality models and economic assessment techniques to assist policy makers and catchment managers balance competing development pressures and environmental concerns in coastal catchments. The research is fundamental to underpinning the sustainable management of coastal catchments which provide major economic, environmental and community benefits. T ....Integrating Economic Valuation and Water Quality Modelling for Improving Management of Coastal Catchments. This project will apply and integrate water quality models and economic assessment techniques to assist policy makers and catchment managers balance competing development pressures and environmental concerns in coastal catchments. The research is fundamental to underpinning the sustainable management of coastal catchments which provide major economic, environmental and community benefits. The project will provide robust tools to predict water quality impacts under a range of conditions and it will develop techniques for the economic valuation of market and non-market impacts. The project will demonstrate the integration of water quality and economic modelling and how it can influence policy and investment in conservation and remediation.Read moreRead less
Improving water market outcomes through a better understanding of market behaviour. The issue of water resources and their sustainable use is probably the most important issue facing the rural sector. The water reform process and its aim to secure water for the environment will cause economic and social pain and result in structural change within the irrigation sector. Properly functioning water markets will play an instrumental role in facilitating this process by providing water for the envir ....Improving water market outcomes through a better understanding of market behaviour. The issue of water resources and their sustainable use is probably the most important issue facing the rural sector. The water reform process and its aim to secure water for the environment will cause economic and social pain and result in structural change within the irrigation sector. Properly functioning water markets will play an instrumental role in facilitating this process by providing water for the environment and allowing water to move between competing resources. This study will enable policy makers and water managers to optimise the positive outcome of water markets and increase the likely success of programs to purchase environmental water.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100922
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$408,490.00
Summary
Foresight: Anticipatory decision-making in water resource management. Long-term planning is vital to secure Australia’s water resources in the face of environmental disruption. This project aims to contribute to sustainable and equitable water management by examining the efficacy of anticipatory decision-making approaches. Qualitative research will be used to examine how scientific knowledge is used or contested in water reform within the Murray-Darling Basin. Intended outcomes include improved ....Foresight: Anticipatory decision-making in water resource management. Long-term planning is vital to secure Australia’s water resources in the face of environmental disruption. This project aims to contribute to sustainable and equitable water management by examining the efficacy of anticipatory decision-making approaches. Qualitative research will be used to examine how scientific knowledge is used or contested in water reform within the Murray-Darling Basin. Intended outcomes include improved capacities to plan for future change and establishing anticipatory decision-making within Australian natural resource management. This should provide significant benefits based on an integrated approach to science and decision-making that addresses trade-offs between stakeholders to identify shared action pathways.Read moreRead less
Regulatory design for water quality management in urban catchments. This project aims, through empirical research (i) to evaluate the effectiveness of current regulatory, quasi-regulatory and other policy strategies for water quality management in urban catchments (including total/integrated catchment management); (ii) to provide practical policy prescriptions concerning how through judicious regulatory and institutional design, those problems may be best addressed for the future; and (iii) adva ....Regulatory design for water quality management in urban catchments. This project aims, through empirical research (i) to evaluate the effectiveness of current regulatory, quasi-regulatory and other policy strategies for water quality management in urban catchments (including total/integrated catchment management); (ii) to provide practical policy prescriptions concerning how through judicious regulatory and institutional design, those problems may be best addressed for the future; and (iii) advance regulatory theory by developing a framework for understanding the relative effectiveness of different regulatory regimes in the context of urban catchment management. Its empirical focus is on the Swan-Canning river in Western Australia.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354516
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
Interdisciplinary Research Network on Property Rights in Natural Resource Management. Property rights are increasingly important in resource management, for titleholders and for the long-term viability of ecological resources. Property rights are historically and traditionally embedded in cultural practices and attitudes influencing the access, use and management of natural resources, ecosystem services and cultural assets. Understanding the history and future of property systems across social-e ....Interdisciplinary Research Network on Property Rights in Natural Resource Management. Property rights are increasingly important in resource management, for titleholders and for the long-term viability of ecological resources. Property rights are historically and traditionally embedded in cultural practices and attitudes influencing the access, use and management of natural resources, ecosystem services and cultural assets. Understanding the history and future of property systems across social-ecological landscapes is fragmented across disciplines, including natural sciences, social sciences and humanities. The interdisciplinary network on property rights in resource management will draw together researchers, building new synergies, novel research agendas and solutions for end users including property owners, resource managers, policy makers, planners and valuers.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354677
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
Sustainable terrestrial and riverine systems through integrated assessment and modelling. Australia must take the lead internationally in sustainability assessment and management; it hosts both the problems and expertise, and is proactive in integrating research and management. This Initiative unites, for the first time, leading researchers from all relevant disciplines to advance our knowledge for achieving sustainable terrestrial and riverine systems (STARS). The intended network can produce a ....Sustainable terrestrial and riverine systems through integrated assessment and modelling. Australia must take the lead internationally in sustainability assessment and management; it hosts both the problems and expertise, and is proactive in integrating research and management. This Initiative unites, for the first time, leading researchers from all relevant disciplines to advance our knowledge for achieving sustainable terrestrial and riverine systems (STARS). The intended network can produce assessments, strategies and policy directions that are objective, adaptive and inclusive. It can evaluate trade-offs between sustainability strategies, integrating research and outcomes, making them accessible to managers. It will build a coordinated research capability that directly supports Australia's goal of ecologically sustainable development. Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354582
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$20,000.00
Summary
Australia-NZ Network for Vegetation Function and Futures. Plants shape our landscapes and drive ecosystem processes from local to global scale. Plant species vary widely in quantitative functional traits. Global datasets about functional variation are emerging, with Australian and NZ leadership. A network would be supported in both Australia and NZ and with strong links elsewhere. It would target seven ambitious but achievable research developments. Each of them demands intensive conversation be ....Australia-NZ Network for Vegetation Function and Futures. Plants shape our landscapes and drive ecosystem processes from local to global scale. Plant species vary widely in quantitative functional traits. Global datasets about functional variation are emerging, with Australian and NZ leadership. A network would be supported in both Australia and NZ and with strong links elsewhere. It would target seven ambitious but achievable research developments. Each of them demands intensive conversation between separate disciplines. Networking across all seven strands will create a broader linkage, spanning across palaeobiology, ecosystem function, vegetation structure, global change, ecophysiology, phylogeny, genomics, ecoinformatics and evolutionary theory.Read moreRead less
Building capacity for adaptive management in protected areas through improved systems for monitoring and evaluation. The project demonstrates how evaluation can lead to improved management of protected areas. Effectively managed protected areas are essential for biodiversity conservation. Improved management, and hence improved conservation outcomes will flow from enhanced use of monitoring and evaluation data in decision-making. Identifying strengths and weaknesses in management will allow mana ....Building capacity for adaptive management in protected areas through improved systems for monitoring and evaluation. The project demonstrates how evaluation can lead to improved management of protected areas. Effectively managed protected areas are essential for biodiversity conservation. Improved management, and hence improved conservation outcomes will flow from enhanced use of monitoring and evaluation data in decision-making. Identifying strengths and weaknesses in management will allow managers to better allocate resource for more effective conservation outcomes. The project establishes connections with all protected area management agencies in Australia, and will contribute to the development of national policy and practice in protected area evaluation and reporting, thus helping to meet national and international reporting obligations. Read moreRead less
Environmental Genomics: Mining, climate change, water, crime and health. The new Environmental Genomics approach will employ high-powered genome sequencing systems to perform some of the first detailed genetic studies of Australian environments. The resulting high-resolution data will comprise a genetic audit, providing essential information for the accurate measurement of climate and environmental change. This method will dramatically improve the speed, and power of environmental impact assessm ....Environmental Genomics: Mining, climate change, water, crime and health. The new Environmental Genomics approach will employ high-powered genome sequencing systems to perform some of the first detailed genetic studies of Australian environments. The resulting high-resolution data will comprise a genetic audit, providing essential information for the accurate measurement of climate and environmental change. This method will dramatically improve the speed, and power of environmental impact assessments, permitting responsible resource development with major benefits to industry and the economy. It will also create new tools to improve water management and quality, biosecurity, forensics/policing and human health, as reflected by the diverse range of industry partners supporting this project.Read moreRead less