Understanding and predicting sediment distribution and net transport in estuaries and coastal oceans with an emphasis on muddy bottom layers. This project will design and implement a field campaign to observe fluid mud layers in the muddy harbours and develop predictive models to investigate these layers. This research will give new direction to port management by developing adaptive tools to solve water quality and siltation problems in muddy ports and harbours in Australia.
Socio-ecological models for environmental decision making. The success of efforts to solve environmental problems will hinge, at least partly, on human responses. Yet environmental decision analysis tools typically do not include social processes, due to theoretical and methodological obstacles including strong disciplinary divides. For the first time, this project will combine computational social science and ecology to develop a new approach to environmental decision science. Using case-studie ....Socio-ecological models for environmental decision making. The success of efforts to solve environmental problems will hinge, at least partly, on human responses. Yet environmental decision analysis tools typically do not include social processes, due to theoretical and methodological obstacles including strong disciplinary divides. For the first time, this project will combine computational social science and ecology to develop a new approach to environmental decision science. Using case-studies in the design of biodiversity markets, this project will provide concrete examples of how socio-ecological models can support management decisions. The use of socio-ecological models will represent a paradigm shift in environmental decision theory that will lead to more effective environmental management.Read moreRead less
Advancing resilience theory and practice for water resource management. Water resources in Australia and worldwide are under severe stress, for example from drought and water demand. This project aims to investigate how water and other natural resources can be managed to build resilience to such stresses. The project expects to develop advances in resilience theory that generate new model-based tools for resilient decision-making. These advances will be tested in a model of water resource manage ....Advancing resilience theory and practice for water resource management. Water resources in Australia and worldwide are under severe stress, for example from drought and water demand. This project aims to investigate how water and other natural resources can be managed to build resilience to such stresses. The project expects to develop advances in resilience theory that generate new model-based tools for resilient decision-making. These advances will be tested in a model of water resource management in north-central Victoria. Expected outcomes of the project include increased decision-maker capability to respond to threats to water and other natural resources. Such outcomes will help ensure the sustainability of increasingly highly stressed natural resources in Australia and worldwide.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
Pesticide effects on native Australia vetebrates: A collaboration between the University of Wollongong and Texas Tech University. Aerially applied insecticides are used worldwide to control periodic locust infestations. Assessment of their effects on vertebrates is based on limited information concerning a few North American or European species. We will compare the sublethal effects of 3 compounds currently used or under consideration by the Australian Plague Locust Commission (APLC) on repre ....Pesticide effects on native Australia vetebrates: A collaboration between the University of Wollongong and Texas Tech University. Aerially applied insecticides are used worldwide to control periodic locust infestations. Assessment of their effects on vertebrates is based on limited information concerning a few North American or European species. We will compare the sublethal effects of 3 compounds currently used or under consideration by the Australian Plague Locust Commission (APLC) on representative Australian vertebrates. Assessments include cholinesterase inhibition, peak aerobic performance , thermoregulatory ability, stress responses, immune function and feeding behaviour. Our collaboration includes expertise in comparative physiology, endocrinology and wildlife toxicology.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC210100034
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,986,473.00
Summary
ARC Training Centre for Healing Country. Healing Country aims to be a world-first on-country capability, employment and business development training centre for Indigenous Australians. The centre aims to achieve cost-effective restoration solutions that grow and strengthen Indigenous enterprises, expand and bolster diverse training pathways, and conduct innovative research to support the advancement of a diversified Indigenous-led Restoration Economy. Healing Country will fuse Indigenous culture ....ARC Training Centre for Healing Country. Healing Country aims to be a world-first on-country capability, employment and business development training centre for Indigenous Australians. The centre aims to achieve cost-effective restoration solutions that grow and strengthen Indigenous enterprises, expand and bolster diverse training pathways, and conduct innovative research to support the advancement of a diversified Indigenous-led Restoration Economy. Healing Country will fuse Indigenous culture in a cooperative vision where science and traditional approaches to land management and rehabilitation will create and nourish an economy that supports healthy land and transform Indigenous restoration businesses into a major employer of on-country regional jobs.Read moreRead less
Global extent of degraded farm lands and their conservation potential. This project aims to map uncontested lands worldwide and assess their potential contribution to global conservation. Globally the area of agricultural land is shrinking due to environmental degradation, market changes and social trends. In the last 15 years, the area of Australia’s pasture lands steeply declined. Although expensive, restoring degraded lands no longer used for agriculture should offer economic opportunities, h ....Global extent of degraded farm lands and their conservation potential. This project aims to map uncontested lands worldwide and assess their potential contribution to global conservation. Globally the area of agricultural land is shrinking due to environmental degradation, market changes and social trends. In the last 15 years, the area of Australia’s pasture lands steeply declined. Although expensive, restoring degraded lands no longer used for agriculture should offer economic opportunities, help mitigate climate change and involve minimal social or political opposition. The outcome will identify the extent and location of uncontested lands and provide a framework for deciding how best to invest in their regeneration.Read moreRead less
Natural resource management and enterprise development: can they improve Indigenous livelihoods? High on the Australian agenda is the removal of disadvantage faced by Indigenous groups and the sustainable use of biodiversity on Indigenous land. In terms of Eastern Indonesia, the Australian agenda relates to poverty eradication, with fewer threats to Australian borders in terms of illegal fishing and migration. This project provides fundamental knowledge on household resource use patterns, and th ....Natural resource management and enterprise development: can they improve Indigenous livelihoods? High on the Australian agenda is the removal of disadvantage faced by Indigenous groups and the sustainable use of biodiversity on Indigenous land. In terms of Eastern Indonesia, the Australian agenda relates to poverty eradication, with fewer threats to Australian borders in terms of illegal fishing and migration. This project provides fundamental knowledge on household resource use patterns, and the constraints and opportunities for natural resource activities, as a step towards identifying ways in which natural resources can be mobilised to improve livelihoods. Read moreRead less
Increasing the effectiveness of Australian threatened bird conservation. Conservation of threatened species is expensive and success rare or fleeting. Analysis of nearly three decades of threatened species conservation management, and an understanding of the complex of factors that affect success, will help increase the efficiency of conservation planning. Improved understanding of the biological, economic, social and institutional environment within which conservation management occurs will hel ....Increasing the effectiveness of Australian threatened bird conservation. Conservation of threatened species is expensive and success rare or fleeting. Analysis of nearly three decades of threatened species conservation management, and an understanding of the complex of factors that affect success, will help increase the efficiency of conservation planning. Improved understanding of the biological, economic, social and institutional environment within which conservation management occurs will help managers allocate resources appropriately. This type of analysis has never been done for an entire fauna at a continental scale and will have global significance. Furthermore the networks to which the investigators are connected will ensure that the results can be rapidly translated into practice.Read moreRead less
Identifying cost-effective reforestation approaches for biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration in the Australian wet tropics. There is great potential for rainforest reforestation to help in the protection of Australia's tropical flora and fauna. Little is known, however, about how to reforest pasture to rainforest for the purpose of maximising the recovery of native biodiversity. We propose a unique experimental study of rainforest reforestation practices with biodiversity conservat ....Identifying cost-effective reforestation approaches for biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration in the Australian wet tropics. There is great potential for rainforest reforestation to help in the protection of Australia's tropical flora and fauna. Little is known, however, about how to reforest pasture to rainforest for the purpose of maximising the recovery of native biodiversity. We propose a unique experimental study of rainforest reforestation practices with biodiversity conservation as a primary goal. Reforestation is currently an unlikely option for most landholders in Australia's tropics given the lack of data on the economic benefits obtainable from such efforts. Our study examines the profits obtainable through the carbon market for each reforestation approach with the goal of increasing the feasibility of rainforest reforestation in North Queensland.Read moreRead less