Traditional knowledge and intellectual property: A comparison of current approaches in Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines. The concepts of 'indigenous cultural and intellectual property rights' and 'traditional resource rights' have sparked a debate between resource-rich developing countries and technology rich industrialised nations, because of their importance for biotechnology and pharmaceutical research. This comparative study combines legal analysis and fieldwork to critically examine ....Traditional knowledge and intellectual property: A comparison of current approaches in Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines. The concepts of 'indigenous cultural and intellectual property rights' and 'traditional resource rights' have sparked a debate between resource-rich developing countries and technology rich industrialised nations, because of their importance for biotechnology and pharmaceutical research. This comparative study combines legal analysis and fieldwork to critically examine cultural assumptions about the relationship of indigenous communities to their symbols and their environment. The examination will extend to Southeast Asia to discover different concepts of 'indigenous' and different mechanisms for the interaction between state and customary law. Asian experiences with legislation in this field will provide useful insights for legislators in Australia.Read moreRead less
The Macroderma initiative: conserving ghost bats and informing development. This project aims to improve methods for capturing biological information required for environmental assessments of highly mobile species and enable strategic environmental planning in Northern Australia. Using Australia’s iconic ghost bat as a focus, the project will test and apply emerging technologies to obtain key information on a species’ population status and its critical resources to inform assessments of ecologic ....The Macroderma initiative: conserving ghost bats and informing development. This project aims to improve methods for capturing biological information required for environmental assessments of highly mobile species and enable strategic environmental planning in Northern Australia. Using Australia’s iconic ghost bat as a focus, the project will test and apply emerging technologies to obtain key information on a species’ population status and its critical resources to inform assessments of ecological impacts of industry development. Important benefits of the project include information and tools for streamlining development approvals and accurately assessing risks to threatened species to improve outcomes for both our economy and our natural environment.Read moreRead less
Towards sustainable co-management of groundwater in the Beetaloo region, NT. This project aims to improve understanding of connections between groundwater, climate, surface water and Indigenous cultural values, in a region of major resource development in the Northern Territory. It will use a novel, inter-disciplinary approach, involving remote sensing of climate-water-landscape interactions, documenting Indigenous water knowledge, environmental isotope monitoring, and water policy analysis. The ....Towards sustainable co-management of groundwater in the Beetaloo region, NT. This project aims to improve understanding of connections between groundwater, climate, surface water and Indigenous cultural values, in a region of major resource development in the Northern Territory. It will use a novel, inter-disciplinary approach, involving remote sensing of climate-water-landscape interactions, documenting Indigenous water knowledge, environmental isotope monitoring, and water policy analysis. The project expects to generate enhanced understanding of hydrological processes, and associated Indigenous cultural values. This is anticipated to improve capacity to analyse risks to groundwater-dependent values, and foster greater Indigenous participation in water planning and monitoring, benefiting multiple stakeholders.Read moreRead less
Forecasting fish resilience to environmental change in northern Australia. This project aims to use a traits-based modelling framework, incorporating variability both within and between species, to forecast the resilience of freshwater fishes in northern Australia to impending environmental change. While northern Australian rivers are among the most pristine and productive on earth, they face profound change due to human activity. Emerging evidence suggests that flexibility in functional traits ....Forecasting fish resilience to environmental change in northern Australia. This project aims to use a traits-based modelling framework, incorporating variability both within and between species, to forecast the resilience of freshwater fishes in northern Australia to impending environmental change. While northern Australian rivers are among the most pristine and productive on earth, they face profound change due to human activity. Emerging evidence suggests that flexibility in functional traits (e.g. life history, physiology, behaviour, diet) may result in resilience to environmental change. This project aims to provide decision-makers with essential information and new tools to underpin future planning and resource management.Read moreRead less
Mammal declines in northern Australia: science for conservation and recovery. Australia’s unique mammal fauna is a rich biological heritage for the nation. It provides a wealth of ecosystem services, and many mammal species have special cultural or aesthetic value. However, our mammals are sadly depleted, and we already have the worst record of recent mammal extinction of any nation. Preventing further mammal extinctions, and managing environments to allow declined mammals to recover, will be of ....Mammal declines in northern Australia: science for conservation and recovery. Australia’s unique mammal fauna is a rich biological heritage for the nation. It provides a wealth of ecosystem services, and many mammal species have special cultural or aesthetic value. However, our mammals are sadly depleted, and we already have the worst record of recent mammal extinction of any nation. Preventing further mammal extinctions, and managing environments to allow declined mammals to recover, will be of great benefit to Australian biodiversity and to the ecosystem processes and human values that depend on it.Read moreRead less
Water-use efficiency of Australian tropical trees: mechanistic analysis at multiple scales. The proposed research will provide valuable information about the physiological functioning of trees in northern Australia. Experiments will elucidate mechanisms that can result in variation in water-use efficiency among different tree species. Such a mechanistic understanding will have multiple benefits: (1) results will be able to be incorporated into process-based models of carbon and water cycling ....Water-use efficiency of Australian tropical trees: mechanistic analysis at multiple scales. The proposed research will provide valuable information about the physiological functioning of trees in northern Australia. Experiments will elucidate mechanisms that can result in variation in water-use efficiency among different tree species. Such a mechanistic understanding will have multiple benefits: (1) results will be able to be incorporated into process-based models of carbon and water cycling in the north-Australian landscape; (2) they will provide valuable information for land managers interested in optimizing both plant biomass production and water resource management; and (3) they will provide a critical test of proxy methods for identifying high water-use efficiency in taxonomically diverse tree species.Read moreRead less
Coastal monitoring using metal resistant microbes. We will develop an early warning, rapid biological assessment (RBA) for sediment toxicity that can be used alongside chemical tests to detect sub-chronic changes in the environment. The assessment will be validated by extensive testing of impacted sediment. We will show how the RBA fits into existing decision trees defined by the Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC) 2000 Guidelines. The biological tests result ....Coastal monitoring using metal resistant microbes. We will develop an early warning, rapid biological assessment (RBA) for sediment toxicity that can be used alongside chemical tests to detect sub-chronic changes in the environment. The assessment will be validated by extensive testing of impacted sediment. We will show how the RBA fits into existing decision trees defined by the Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC) 2000 Guidelines. The biological tests resulting from this project will be as rapid and straightforward as existing chemical tests, which will facilitate industry acceptance. The project has strong industry involvement from mining companies, the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and traditional owners. These partners will guide this project and facilitate communication to the wider industry to aid acceptance and uptake.Read moreRead less
Applying macroecology to assist in the management of Kakadu National Park. The ecological integrity of Kakadu National Park is threatened by fires, weeds, and feral animals. To help tackle these problems, we will develop a cost-effective, culturally appropriate, park-wide monitoring system based on changes in the boundaries of closed forests, woodland and grassland. We will gauge the effect of broad-scale land management interventions, and predict the consequences of future change. The findings ....Applying macroecology to assist in the management of Kakadu National Park. The ecological integrity of Kakadu National Park is threatened by fires, weeds, and feral animals. To help tackle these problems, we will develop a cost-effective, culturally appropriate, park-wide monitoring system based on changes in the boundaries of closed forests, woodland and grassland. We will gauge the effect of broad-scale land management interventions, and predict the consequences of future change. The findings of this study will be transferable to other landscape settings in Australia and overseas. It will contribute to debates about the ecological consequences of current land management practices and how these compare with past Aboriginal land management.Read moreRead less
Automated groundwater level mapping: a tool for catchment scale estimation of aquifer storage changes, fluxes and hydrogeological properties. Cutting-edge groundwater mapping tools will be developed by this project and made freely available. Water table maps will be derived for Victoria and used to quantify aquifer properties, recharge and the groundwater balance. Fundamental limitations to quantitative groundwater management will be overcome and the Bureau of Meteorology intend to adopt the fin ....Automated groundwater level mapping: a tool for catchment scale estimation of aquifer storage changes, fluxes and hydrogeological properties. Cutting-edge groundwater mapping tools will be developed by this project and made freely available. Water table maps will be derived for Victoria and used to quantify aquifer properties, recharge and the groundwater balance. Fundamental limitations to quantitative groundwater management will be overcome and the Bureau of Meteorology intend to adopt the findings.Read moreRead less
A landscape-scale experimental test of factors driving mammal declines in northern Australia. Australia has suffered the highest rate of modern mammal extinctions in the world. Foxes have been largely responsible for this extinction in southern Australia and probably also Central Australia. However the decline in mammals in northern Australia has occurred later than that in the south, and in the absence of foxes. We will adopt an experimental approach to determine the mechanisms driving mammal d ....A landscape-scale experimental test of factors driving mammal declines in northern Australia. Australia has suffered the highest rate of modern mammal extinctions in the world. Foxes have been largely responsible for this extinction in southern Australia and probably also Central Australia. However the decline in mammals in northern Australia has occurred later than that in the south, and in the absence of foxes. We will adopt an experimental approach to determine the mechanisms driving mammal declines and extinctions in northern Australia. Populations of brush-tail tree rats (Conilurus penicillatus) will be translocated to suitable habitat on mainland sites that experience different fire regimes and predation pressures.Read moreRead less