A global urban atlas of nature-based solutions for climate resilient cities. This project aims to systematically examine, map and provide a synthesis of the governance of nature-based solutions (NBS) in Australian and global cities. This project expects to generate new knowledge and a novel synthesis methodology about the global landscape of NBS governance, and explore the acceleration of urban transitions with NBS through a global urban atlas. The global urban atlas will inform policy agendas a ....A global urban atlas of nature-based solutions for climate resilient cities. This project aims to systematically examine, map and provide a synthesis of the governance of nature-based solutions (NBS) in Australian and global cities. This project expects to generate new knowledge and a novel synthesis methodology about the global landscape of NBS governance, and explore the acceleration of urban transitions with NBS through a global urban atlas. The global urban atlas will inform policy agendas and identify how ecologically/climate challenged cities and regions can leverage NBS, and thus shift their governance approaches to be climate resilient in the future. This will benefit government and policy makers, and all people who live in these communities.Read moreRead less
People, Pumps and Pipes: A social study of change in the collaborative supply of irrigation services. The research addresses key National Priorities and Priority Goals relating to improved sustainable water management in Australia's foremost river system. The research offers deeper understanding of the social dimensions of National Water Initiative reforms, and specifically motivations for irrigators' decisions contributing to more sustainable water use following legislative reforms. The project ....People, Pumps and Pipes: A social study of change in the collaborative supply of irrigation services. The research addresses key National Priorities and Priority Goals relating to improved sustainable water management in Australia's foremost river system. The research offers deeper understanding of the social dimensions of National Water Initiative reforms, and specifically motivations for irrigators' decisions contributing to more sustainable water use following legislative reforms. The project links understanding of the nexus between policy and environmental behaviour to advance knowledge of more sustainable water use. Given the current demands on water in the Murray-Darling system and the systems national significance, the research will make a vital contribution to management of this critical national resource.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150100494
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$338,000.00
Summary
An Integrative Assessment of Factors Contributing to Wellbeing in Australia. The project aims to be a first attempt at a comprehensive, integrative, assessment of which factors contribute most significantly to the sustainable wellbeing of the Australian population. It will employ regression analyses to explore the relationship between social, economic, and environmental indicators and subjective wellbeing. The project aims to allow estimates of the relative value and trade-offs of the factors in ....An Integrative Assessment of Factors Contributing to Wellbeing in Australia. The project aims to be a first attempt at a comprehensive, integrative, assessment of which factors contribute most significantly to the sustainable wellbeing of the Australian population. It will employ regression analyses to explore the relationship between social, economic, and environmental indicators and subjective wellbeing. The project aims to allow estimates of the relative value and trade-offs of the factors in creating wellbeing. Geographic Information System (GIS) maps will show the special patterns and distribution of the contributing factors at local and regional scales, providing detailed information about the assets and policy recommendations for improving sustainable wellbeing.Read moreRead less
Managing Australian landscapes to reduce house loss during bushfires. The number of houses destroyed by bushfires in Australia is increasing. This project aims to undertake the first comprehensive analysis of links between land management practices and house loss during bushfires across Australia. Results from this research are expected to improve the ability of authorities, industry and individual home owners to quantify risk from bushfires, and to identify ways that Australian landscapes can b ....Managing Australian landscapes to reduce house loss during bushfires. The number of houses destroyed by bushfires in Australia is increasing. This project aims to undertake the first comprehensive analysis of links between land management practices and house loss during bushfires across Australia. Results from this research are expected to improve the ability of authorities, industry and individual home owners to quantify risk from bushfires, and to identify ways that Australian landscapes can be managed to reduce house losses during bushfires. Results from this research will be communicated directly to key stakeholders including government agencies, industry and home owners.Read moreRead less
Securing the essential: assisting Indigenous communities and their service providers to sustainably manage water and energy supply. The provision of water and energy supplies to remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) communities is a critical challenge for service providers. This project uses a novel unobtrusive smart metering system, aligned with culturally appropriate consultation with ATSI communities, to reveal patterns of household water and water related-energy consumption. Si ....Securing the essential: assisting Indigenous communities and their service providers to sustainably manage water and energy supply. The provision of water and energy supplies to remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) communities is a critical challenge for service providers. This project uses a novel unobtrusive smart metering system, aligned with culturally appropriate consultation with ATSI communities, to reveal patterns of household water and water related-energy consumption. Significantly, the research aims to identify effective behavioural and technological water and energy efficiency strategies in three remote ATSI communities in Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia. A key outcome is to provide an adaptive evidence-based and community-driven handbook to facilitate the secure long-term supply and efficient use of energy and water resources in remote ATSI communities.Read moreRead less
Adapting for an uncertain future: farmer behaviour in water-stressed basins. Given the future risk of water scarcity, farmers will need to plan for greater farm-level adaptation. Drought and policy reform have inflicted significant economic, social and personal stress upon Murray-Darling Basin rural communities. This project aims to aid water managers and policy makers with a greater understanding of transformational farmer adaptation in order to plan for the economic, social and health impacts ....Adapting for an uncertain future: farmer behaviour in water-stressed basins. Given the future risk of water scarcity, farmers will need to plan for greater farm-level adaptation. Drought and policy reform have inflicted significant economic, social and personal stress upon Murray-Darling Basin rural communities. This project aims to aid water managers and policy makers with a greater understanding of transformational farmer adaptation in order to plan for the economic, social and health impacts of future water scarcity from climate change and water reform-related policies. The focus will be on the Murray-Darling Basin, as well as undertaking a comparative analysis with water stressed basins in the United States.Read moreRead less
Bushfires, smoke, and people: assessing the risks and benefits from planned burning on the urban-rural interface. A key strategy to protect people from wildfire is the use of planned burns to reduce fire hazards. The exposure of communities to smoke pollution is a serious side-effect of this intervention. This project will be critical in enabling authorities to protect public health by determining acceptable levels of smoke originating from planned burns.
ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions. Despite facing the sixth global mass extinction of species, most conservation management is unevaluated and inefficient. The ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions will provide international research leadership in tackling the complex problems of environmental management and monitoring in an uncertain world. Working through six Australian universities and six international organisations, the Centre will forge new approaches and ....ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions. Despite facing the sixth global mass extinction of species, most conservation management is unevaluated and inefficient. The ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions will provide international research leadership in tackling the complex problems of environmental management and monitoring in an uncertain world. Working through six Australian universities and six international organisations, the Centre will forge new approaches and tools from ecology, mathematics, statistics, economics and the social sciences. It will lead the world in developing and delivering predictive models and decision-making approaches to improve outcomes in conservation.Read moreRead less
Beyond fire frequency: understanding fire season for ecosystem management. This project aims to investigate how the season of fire, arguably one of the biggest changes brought about by fire management, can impact ecosystems and the persistence of threatened species. The project expects to generate new yet fundamental knowledge of how the timing of fire has shifted, using a multidisciplinary team with expertise in remote sensing and fire ecology, and experimentally assess fire season effects on s ....Beyond fire frequency: understanding fire season for ecosystem management. This project aims to investigate how the season of fire, arguably one of the biggest changes brought about by fire management, can impact ecosystems and the persistence of threatened species. The project expects to generate new yet fundamental knowledge of how the timing of fire has shifted, using a multidisciplinary team with expertise in remote sensing and fire ecology, and experimentally assess fire season effects on soil properties and plant persistence. The project aims to enhance capacity of conservation agencies across Australia to effectively implement fires while maintaining biodiversity values. This should provide significant benefits for informed management of the large numbers of threatened species under their protection.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140101624
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$394,870.00
Summary
Reconciling development and conservation trade-offs from global and Australian protected area expansion. Driven by recent international commitments, the following eight years are likely to see the greatest expansion of the global protected area network in history, but underlying biases in protected area location could limit the cost-efficiency and conservation value of this expansion. To increase the transparency of decisions underlying protected area expansion, this project will develop and tes ....Reconciling development and conservation trade-offs from global and Australian protected area expansion. Driven by recent international commitments, the following eight years are likely to see the greatest expansion of the global protected area network in history, but underlying biases in protected area location could limit the cost-efficiency and conservation value of this expansion. To increase the transparency of decisions underlying protected area expansion, this project will develop and test spatially-explicit scenarios of expanding human influence at the global scale and the impacts on biodiversity. This information will be then be used to determine the trade-offs and synergies between human development potential and biodiversity benefits from protected area expansion, both globally and in Australia.Read moreRead less