Integrating measures of Indigenous land management effectiveness. Land management is the fastest growing Indigenous employment sector in Australia yet methods for assessing its effectiveness are poorly developed. This project will work with Indigenous land managers and their major environmental service delivery partners to develop and agree on measures of land management effectiveness to meet multiple objectives.
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR200200186
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$230,583.00
Summary
Water resources management: past transformations for future sustainability. This project aims to develop a more systemic understanding of how culture, technology and institutional regulations have together transformed water resources management in Australia since the 1850s. Water resources in Australia have suffered multiple environmental and socio-economic crises. This project will identify the cultural and technological factors that have historically influenced allocations and access to water ....Water resources management: past transformations for future sustainability. This project aims to develop a more systemic understanding of how culture, technology and institutional regulations have together transformed water resources management in Australia since the 1850s. Water resources in Australia have suffered multiple environmental and socio-economic crises. This project will identify the cultural and technological factors that have historically influenced allocations and access to water resources for economic development, and the institutional regulations needed for tackling contemporary water crises. A deeper understanding of how public attitudes, institutions and socio-economic drivers redefined water resources management will help shape Australia’s capacity to prepare for a sustainable future. Read moreRead less
Adaptive ecotyping of the toxic cyanobacterium Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii to predict its invasive capacity. We change the world while other organisms adapt to these new conditions. Cyanobacteria (blue green algae) increasingly dominate water bodies that were previously free of these harmful blooms. To minimise the spread of these algae, this project will study the genetic basis that determines how rapidly they can evolve and adapt to a changing planet.
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
Maximising the conservation of biodiversity and the delivery of ecosystem services: What to do, where and when. The economic wealth of Australia is underpinned by its remarkable biological diversity. However, land and water degradation are eroding Australia's natural asset base damaging industries such as tourism, fisheries, and forestry. Given limited funds for biodiversity conservation, we need to minimise the misallocation of resources by making wise investments. This research will result in ....Maximising the conservation of biodiversity and the delivery of ecosystem services: What to do, where and when. The economic wealth of Australia is underpinned by its remarkable biological diversity. However, land and water degradation are eroding Australia's natural asset base damaging industries such as tourism, fisheries, and forestry. Given limited funds for biodiversity conservation, we need to minimise the misallocation of resources by making wise investments. This research will result in frameworks and tools to ensure that we maximise the protection of biological diversity and the delivery of ecosystem services (such as clean water) that are important for human well-being. We will share the results of our research with decision makers, scientists, and the general public.Read moreRead less
Theory for global biodiversity conservation. Australia's biological diversity underpins much of our economic wealth - for example the remarkable diversity of coral reefs fuels a multibillion dollar tourism industry. We will devise methods to make better decisions about where to invest conservation dollars amongst the biodiversity "hotspots" of the world and Australia to deliver environmental sustainability. We will solve the problem of how much of any environmental budget should be spent on mo ....Theory for global biodiversity conservation. Australia's biological diversity underpins much of our economic wealth - for example the remarkable diversity of coral reefs fuels a multibillion dollar tourism industry. We will devise methods to make better decisions about where to invest conservation dollars amongst the biodiversity "hotspots" of the world and Australia to deliver environmental sustainability. We will solve the problem of how much of any environmental budget should be spent on monitoring conservation actions to make better and more cost-effective decisions. We will create new theory and freely available tools for building systems of marine reserves that allow for threats like coral bleaching and hurricanes.Read moreRead less
Determining global and regional conservation priorities for biodiversity hotspots. The economic wealth of both Australia and Israel is underpinned by biological diversity - for example the remarkable biological diversity of both countries fuels multimillion-dollar tourism industries. We will devise methods to make better decisions about where to invest conservation dollars amongst the biodiversity 'hotspots' of the Mediterranean ecosystems of the world. We will create and test new theory and to ....Determining global and regional conservation priorities for biodiversity hotspots. The economic wealth of both Australia and Israel is underpinned by biological diversity - for example the remarkable biological diversity of both countries fuels multimillion-dollar tourism industries. We will devise methods to make better decisions about where to invest conservation dollars amongst the biodiversity 'hotspots' of the Mediterranean ecosystems of the world. We will create and test new theory and tools for incorporating into decision making the effect of processes such as climate change and invasion by alien species, which will help reduce the huge detrimental impacts on social, economic, health and human-well being. We will share the results of our work with decision makers and with the public.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
Do scientist and public preferences diverge? Analysing expert and public preferences for environmental and social outcomes for the Swan River. Expert judgements and public preferences may be quite different, so when can organisations rely on experts, how serious is the divergence, and when does it matter? In a case study of Perth's iconic Swan River, the project will explore this issue and its consequences for decision makers, to assist the Swan River Trust in their future decision making.
Influence of Marine Protected Areas on ecosystem resilience and ecological processes. Australia is implementing a national representative system of marine protected areas (MPAs). The aims of the MPAs include ensuring ecological viability, maintaining ecological processes, and protecting biodiversity. The ability of MPAs to achieve these aims, however, is based largely on theory rather than empirical evidence. Implementation of MPAs is often controversial as it may cause economic hardship to comm ....Influence of Marine Protected Areas on ecosystem resilience and ecological processes. Australia is implementing a national representative system of marine protected areas (MPAs). The aims of the MPAs include ensuring ecological viability, maintaining ecological processes, and protecting biodiversity. The ability of MPAs to achieve these aims, however, is based largely on theory rather than empirical evidence. Implementation of MPAs is often controversial as it may cause economic hardship to communities dependent on fishing. Our project will benefit environmental managers by determining if and how MPAs influence biodiversity, ecological processes, and ecosystem services and resilience. It will benefit the wider community by providing the rigorous scientific evidence in favour of MPAs that is demanded by stakeholders.Read moreRead less