Non-urban water governance: rethinking compliance and enforcement. This project aims to critically evaluate the practices and strategies of non-urban water compliance and enforcement in Australia and internationally, to identify and develop innovations for water governance. New law and policy knowledge is expected from its fusion of empirical data and regulatory theory. The project expects to advance applied regulatory theory by identifying improvements in compliance and enforcement to help solv ....Non-urban water governance: rethinking compliance and enforcement. This project aims to critically evaluate the practices and strategies of non-urban water compliance and enforcement in Australia and internationally, to identify and develop innovations for water governance. New law and policy knowledge is expected from its fusion of empirical data and regulatory theory. The project expects to advance applied regulatory theory by identifying improvements in compliance and enforcement to help solve environmental issues. It will also lead to policy reforms for delivering more effective, efficient and politically-acceptable compliance outcomes for non-urban water management that will benefit water regulators and the sustainability and productivity of Australia's agricultural industry.Read moreRead less
Compliance and enforcement of non-urban water extraction in New South Wales. This project will examine the compliance and enforcement practices of regulators and regulated communities in the water context. Results will provide legal and policy guidance to reshape compliance and enforcement strategies to effectively and efficiently enhance the legitimacy of water law, protect water resources and prevent overuse.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170101536
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$346,000.00
Summary
Regulation and governance for the sustainable management of groundwater. This project aims to manage groundwater through analysing six national and international case studies. Groundwater management in Australia confronts a multi-dimensional crisis stemming from neglect, over-allocations and policy mismanagement. Overcoming this will require a transformation in the regulation and governance of groundwater. The project’s findings are expected to advance regulation and governance empirical theory, ....Regulation and governance for the sustainable management of groundwater. This project aims to manage groundwater through analysing six national and international case studies. Groundwater management in Australia confronts a multi-dimensional crisis stemming from neglect, over-allocations and policy mismanagement. Overcoming this will require a transformation in the regulation and governance of groundwater. The project’s findings are expected to advance regulation and governance empirical theory, normative and applied theory and provide policy solutions for sustainable groundwater management within a pluralistic governance model. This is significant and timely given planned policy reviews in the Murray Darling Basin, the effect of climate change and plans to develop agriculture in Northern Australia.Read moreRead less
Vulnerabilities for environmental water outcomes in a changing climate. This project aims to assess the vulnerability of freshwater ecosystems to extended droughts in a variable and changing climate. Governments around the world are investing in the restoration of regulated river systems with environmental water. However, the risks of climate change for environmental water management are seldom considered. This project will model the change in environmental and consumptive water use during exten ....Vulnerabilities for environmental water outcomes in a changing climate. This project aims to assess the vulnerability of freshwater ecosystems to extended droughts in a variable and changing climate. Governments around the world are investing in the restoration of regulated river systems with environmental water. However, the risks of climate change for environmental water management are seldom considered. This project will model the change in environmental and consumptive water use during extended dry periods, and couple this to models of ecological dynamics and failure thresholds. This will improve the success of Australia’s major environmental water programs in sustaining benefits through future multi-year droughts.Read moreRead less
Understanding Land Use Conflict in Rural Australia: A Values Analytic Approach. This project will analyse rural land use conflicts in Australia in terms of sets of values, focussing on if and how one set, agrarianism, centred on belief in the primacy of agriculture, has changed with the ‘encroachment’ of activities such as mining, wind power generation and wildlife conservation into rural spaces. This study, based on a survey and content analyses, will be the most comprehensive study of agrarian ....Understanding Land Use Conflict in Rural Australia: A Values Analytic Approach. This project will analyse rural land use conflicts in Australia in terms of sets of values, focussing on if and how one set, agrarianism, centred on belief in the primacy of agriculture, has changed with the ‘encroachment’ of activities such as mining, wind power generation and wildlife conservation into rural spaces. This study, based on a survey and content analyses, will be the most comprehensive study of agrarianism in Australia and internationally innovative in considering so many other land uses and their associated social values. Outcomes will include attitudes data and conceptual frameworks that will help policy-makers and stakeholders understand and manage land use conflicts. Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR200200322
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$281,446.00
Summary
Understanding the water cultures of the Murray-Darling Basin. The project aims to generate new knowledge of the formation and evolution of cultural values and practices relating to water in the Murray-Darling Basin. By applying innovative approaches from the environmental humanities, it will investigate the development of cultures of water and their role in long-standing water-sharing conflicts. The expected outcome is a greater understanding of influential ideas about the value of water and riv ....Understanding the water cultures of the Murray-Darling Basin. The project aims to generate new knowledge of the formation and evolution of cultural values and practices relating to water in the Murray-Darling Basin. By applying innovative approaches from the environmental humanities, it will investigate the development of cultures of water and their role in long-standing water-sharing conflicts. The expected outcome is a greater understanding of influential ideas about the value of water and rivers and a Water Cultures Network to facilitate collaboration between humanities and social science scholars, environmental scientists, and water managers. The public will benefit from knowing how water use behaviours evolved in the Basin and how they might be reframed to adapt to a hotter, drier future. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100907
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$434,107.00
Summary
Tracking groundwater variations via 4-dimensional seismic imaging. This project aims to develop an advanced seismic framework to sense subtle subsurface changes related to groundwater variations beneath the Great Artesian Basin. Groundwater storage is subject to climatic and anthropogenic forcing, but modern monitoring tools are not sufficient to capture its detailed response in both time and space. Using novel techniques and extensive seismic recordings, this project expects to generate time-la ....Tracking groundwater variations via 4-dimensional seismic imaging. This project aims to develop an advanced seismic framework to sense subtle subsurface changes related to groundwater variations beneath the Great Artesian Basin. Groundwater storage is subject to climatic and anthropogenic forcing, but modern monitoring tools are not sufficient to capture its detailed response in both time and space. Using novel techniques and extensive seismic recordings, this project expects to generate time-lapse images across the basin in unprecedented resolution to reveal the system's dynamic evolution and a static basin model to aid the interpretation. Potential benefits include improved geophysical techniques for groundwater tracking and enhanced scientific understandings to underpin future groundwater management.Read moreRead less
The role of science in the policy process: responding to drought in Australia and the USA. Recent research has predicted more frequent and increasingly severe drought events for Australia in the future. Effective management of drought risk requires timely and relevant scientific information, placing scientific advice at the heart of a successful national drought management strategy. There is considerable potential for mutual policy learning as a result of a comparison of the role of scientists i ....The role of science in the policy process: responding to drought in Australia and the USA. Recent research has predicted more frequent and increasingly severe drought events for Australia in the future. Effective management of drought risk requires timely and relevant scientific information, placing scientific advice at the heart of a successful national drought management strategy. There is considerable potential for mutual policy learning as a result of a comparison of the role of scientists in drought policy in the US and Australia. This research project will also strengthen existing ties with top international drought researchers and promote opportunities for further international collaboration in the field of drought research and also in the consideration of the role of scientific advice in the policy process. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220101519
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$450,000.00
Summary
Sedimentary basins: Windows into the dynamics of Australian lithosphere. This project aims to investigate the structure and stability of the Australian continent. It will focus on improving predictive models of sedimentary basin development on the edge of thick lithosphere, which host large quantities of metal, hydrocarbons, and freshwater. Understanding their formation will enhance the ability to locate resources in frontier areas. The research combines state-of-the-art geodynamical modelling w ....Sedimentary basins: Windows into the dynamics of Australian lithosphere. This project aims to investigate the structure and stability of the Australian continent. It will focus on improving predictive models of sedimentary basin development on the edge of thick lithosphere, which host large quantities of metal, hydrocarbons, and freshwater. Understanding their formation will enhance the ability to locate resources in frontier areas. The research combines state-of-the-art geodynamical modelling with the burgeoning quantity of geophysical and geological data collected by the government and research community. The project would build Australian research capability and stimulate novel approaches to critical problems, highlighting opportunities at the interface between academic and industry geoscience.Read moreRead less
The potential reduction of regulatory thresholds for marine biotoxins in the EU will have significant negative economic consequences for the Australian oyster, mussel, scallop and abalone industries (and pipi’s if domestic regulatory thresholds also changed).
The scallop, oyster and mussel industry currently export product to the EU. Total scallop exports to the EU in 2006/2007 were valued at around $4,551,000 AUD (187 t). Other mollusc (including oysters and mussels) exports to the E ....The potential reduction of regulatory thresholds for marine biotoxins in the EU will have significant negative economic consequences for the Australian oyster, mussel, scallop and abalone industries (and pipi’s if domestic regulatory thresholds also changed).
The scallop, oyster and mussel industry currently export product to the EU. Total scallop exports to the EU in 2006/2007 were valued at around $4,551,000 AUD (187 t). Other mollusc (including oysters and mussels) exports to the EU in 2006/2007 were around $1,084,000 AUD (255 t). Due to the periodic occurrence of okadaic acid toxins and saxitoxins in Australian shellfish the implementation of reduced regulatory levels would reduce the amount of product eligible for export to the EU.
Exports of Australian abalone to the EU ceased in 2007, this was in part due to the enforcement of marine biotoxin regulatory limits by the EC. The wild caught abalone industry is attempting to regain market access to the EU through determining alternate risk management procedures for marine biotoxins in abalone. The reduction of regulatory levels for marine biotoxins may impinge on future EU access arrangements for Australian abalone.
Experience has repeatedly demonstrated that European decisions can impact on other more commercially significant markets, including Asia and the domestic market. Codex may also be prompted to change marine biotoxin guidance levels in response to EU changes. Wide spread adoption of reduced regulatory levels for marine biotoxins would result in increased growing area closures in Australia and less product eligible for sale. This proposal aims to assist in maintaining the current EU regulatory limits for marine biotoxins which will allow the current amount of shellfish to be exported to the EU and avoid other markets being influenced.
Objectives: 1. Undertake robust technical review of the European Food Safety Authority risk assessments on saxitoxin and okadaic acid group toxins. 2. Submit the technical review and a rationale for maintaining current marine biotoxin regulatory limits to the European Commission. 3. Convene a working group to determine future steps required to mitigate potential lowering of marine biotoxin regulatory limits. Read moreRead less