Fish Jenga: metapopulation management for coastal river fish. This project aims to address the escalating threats to coastal freshwater fish from drought, fire, and other disturbances. The project expects to generate new knowledge on contemporary distributions of NSW coastal freshwater fishes, and will develop models of population dynamics to explore the consequences of alternative water management and disturbance scenarios. The expected outcome of the project is to revolutionise management by r ....Fish Jenga: metapopulation management for coastal river fish. This project aims to address the escalating threats to coastal freshwater fish from drought, fire, and other disturbances. The project expects to generate new knowledge on contemporary distributions of NSW coastal freshwater fishes, and will develop models of population dynamics to explore the consequences of alternative water management and disturbance scenarios. The expected outcome of the project is to revolutionise management by replacing the current practice of managing river basins separately, with a framework that accounts for among-basin linkages that are essential for the long-term persistence of fish populations. Significant benefits include more efficient use of water resources and improved conservation outcomes for native fish.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
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220101129
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$438,479.00
Summary
Assessing the risks of extracting metals for the global energy transition. This project aims to produce the first of its kind online atlas that systematically documents the social, environmental and economic impacts in mining locations around the world. Analysing impacts at the source of metal supply chains is crucial to comprehend the implications of transitioning to metal-intensive low-carbon energy technologies. The project would deliver insights on available pathways to achieve a ‘just’ ener ....Assessing the risks of extracting metals for the global energy transition. This project aims to produce the first of its kind online atlas that systematically documents the social, environmental and economic impacts in mining locations around the world. Analysing impacts at the source of metal supply chains is crucial to comprehend the implications of transitioning to metal-intensive low-carbon energy technologies. The project would deliver insights on available pathways to achieve a ‘just’ energy transition, meaning a transition that successfully tackles climate change without placing unacceptable burden on mining communities and environments. The goal of the research is to generate evidence-based recommendations so that future metal supply can be both reliable and responsible.Read moreRead less
Shaping a sunburnt country: fire, climate and the Australian landscape. Fire shapes Australia’s landscape, biodiversity and resources. This project aims to quantify the recent history of fire intensity and severity using several novel proxies in the fire-prone landscapes of south-eastern Australia. Calibration of these new proxies to recent wildfires will be used for a better characterisation of fire regimes. This research will be applied to sedimentary archives to investigate how fire regimes h ....Shaping a sunburnt country: fire, climate and the Australian landscape. Fire shapes Australia’s landscape, biodiversity and resources. This project aims to quantify the recent history of fire intensity and severity using several novel proxies in the fire-prone landscapes of south-eastern Australia. Calibration of these new proxies to recent wildfires will be used for a better characterisation of fire regimes. This research will be applied to sedimentary archives to investigate how fire regimes have evolved over the past 100 years. The outcomes will inform debates about the relationship between climatic variability and fire severity, and this will contribute to increase the preparedness of natural resource management to potential future climate and land-use scenarios.Read moreRead less
Food System Shocks: Managing Transitions to Future Food Security. Recent food system shocks such as bushfires, floods, drought, and the impact of Covid-19 on the harvesting and distribution of agricultural products, are having profound on-farm impacts. Farmers, as land managers, are on the front line of navigating these major disruptions whilst also maintaining continuity of supply that supports Australia's national and regional food security. Situating the farmer as the 'expert' of managing and ....Food System Shocks: Managing Transitions to Future Food Security. Recent food system shocks such as bushfires, floods, drought, and the impact of Covid-19 on the harvesting and distribution of agricultural products, are having profound on-farm impacts. Farmers, as land managers, are on the front line of navigating these major disruptions whilst also maintaining continuity of supply that supports Australia's national and regional food security. Situating the farmer as the 'expert' of managing and accommodating shocks, this project will co-produce a range of evidence-based transition and innovation scenarios for the horticultural industry to enhance future preparedness for shocks and support rural livelihoods. Read moreRead less
Innovation in agricultural sector Green House Gas abatement in NSW. This project aims to develop a land sector greenhouse gas abatement, food production and environmental economics model for NSW. We expect to identify innovation in carbon payment policy and brokerage business models to achieve agricultural GHG abatement, while simultaneously improving sustainability. Expected outcomes include evaluation of the innovations of expert landholders, related businesses and governments to find ways to ....Innovation in agricultural sector Green House Gas abatement in NSW. This project aims to develop a land sector greenhouse gas abatement, food production and environmental economics model for NSW. We expect to identify innovation in carbon payment policy and brokerage business models to achieve agricultural GHG abatement, while simultaneously improving sustainability. Expected outcomes include evaluation of the innovations of expert landholders, related businesses and governments to find ways to influence land use decisions. This should provide significant benefits to landholders, governments involved in land management and the public through increased productivity, profitability, biodiversity and ecosystem health in the context of future climate, agricultural commodity and carbon market uncertainties.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC190100031
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,973,202.00
Summary
ARC Training Centre in Data Analytics for Resources and Environments (DARE). Understanding the cumulative impact of actions regarding the use of our resources has important long-term consequences for Australia’s economic, societal and environmental health. Yet despite the importance of these cumulative impacts, and the availability of data, many decisions and policies are based on limited amounts of data and rudimentary data analysis, with little appreciation of the critical role that understand ....ARC Training Centre in Data Analytics for Resources and Environments (DARE). Understanding the cumulative impact of actions regarding the use of our resources has important long-term consequences for Australia’s economic, societal and environmental health. Yet despite the importance of these cumulative impacts, and the availability of data, many decisions and policies are based on limited amounts of data and rudimentary data analysis, with little appreciation of the critical role that understanding and quantifying uncertainty plays in the process. The aim of Data Analytics in Resources and Environment (DARE) is to develop and deliver the data science skills and tools for Australia’s resource industries to make the best possible evidence-based decisions in exploiting and stewarding the nation’s natural resources.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210101918
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$417,990.00
Summary
Fair conservation: pathways to equitable and effective protected areas. This project aims to determine the conditions under which coral reef protected areas are likely to be considered fair by local stakeholders and how perceived fairness is related to cooperation with management. With protected areas set to cover 30% of the world’s surface by 2030, addressing the understudied question of what constitutes fairness for stakeholders is of pressing importance. This project will conduct the first mu ....Fair conservation: pathways to equitable and effective protected areas. This project aims to determine the conditions under which coral reef protected areas are likely to be considered fair by local stakeholders and how perceived fairness is related to cooperation with management. With protected areas set to cover 30% of the world’s surface by 2030, addressing the understudied question of what constitutes fairness for stakeholders is of pressing importance. This project will conduct the first multi-country comparative analysis of perceived protected area fairness, the factors that shape those perceptions and their implications for cooperation with management. Project outcomes include enhanced capacity to plan for and inform effective protected areas that are considered fair by the people most affected by them.Read moreRead less
Better oceans, better futures:Indigenous knowledges and oceans governance . This project aims to re-imagine oceans governance by drawing inspiration and guidance from Indigenous ontologies and epistemologies. Using an Indigenous lens, it will explore opportunities for more inclusive approaches to oceans governance and economic development. Current systems privilege and valorise ‘rational’ knowledge and data, marginalising subjective, relational and cultural values. The project outcomes will inc ....Better oceans, better futures:Indigenous knowledges and oceans governance . This project aims to re-imagine oceans governance by drawing inspiration and guidance from Indigenous ontologies and epistemologies. Using an Indigenous lens, it will explore opportunities for more inclusive approaches to oceans governance and economic development. Current systems privilege and valorise ‘rational’ knowledge and data, marginalising subjective, relational and cultural values. The project outcomes will include the identification of opportunities for better consideration of diverse values, knowledges and worldviews in existing governing systems.This will provide significant benefits, including greater agency for civil society, especially Indigenous communities at local, regional, national and international scales.Read moreRead less
The ecological impact of large carnivore restoration. This project aims to assess the ecological changes that have arisen due to the repatriation of estuarine crocodiles to Australian ecosystems. It is significant because the restoration provides a rare opportunity to empirically test changes in ecosystem processes under varying degrees of large carnivore predation pressure. Expected outcomes include improved understanding of the processes that govern the strength of predator-ecosystem interacti ....The ecological impact of large carnivore restoration. This project aims to assess the ecological changes that have arisen due to the repatriation of estuarine crocodiles to Australian ecosystems. It is significant because the restoration provides a rare opportunity to empirically test changes in ecosystem processes under varying degrees of large carnivore predation pressure. Expected outcomes include improved understanding of the processes that govern the strength of predator-ecosystem interactions and an ability to quantify the biomass, social structure, and behaviours of predators required to influence these processes. Benefits should include improvements in how the ecological role of large carnivores is measured, and when and where carnivore populations should be culled or conserved.Read moreRead less