An Assessment of Social-Ecological Resilience in the Context of Marine Resource Management in Melanesia. Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands are part of the so-called 'Arc of Instability'. Despite enjoying relatively high levels of food security, mainly due to low human population densities, both countries have low Human Development Indices, particularly in Health and Education, and sustainable development is hindered by a range of problems, including complex and often socially destructive resp ....An Assessment of Social-Ecological Resilience in the Context of Marine Resource Management in Melanesia. Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands are part of the so-called 'Arc of Instability'. Despite enjoying relatively high levels of food security, mainly due to low human population densities, both countries have low Human Development Indices, particularly in Health and Education, and sustainable development is hindered by a range of problems, including complex and often socially destructive responses to global markets. Meanwhile fishery resources of both countries are being rapidly depleted by accelerating global commodity demand, threatening food security and undermining progress towards sustainable human development. Targeted, socially-informed resource management policy can prevent these problems from becoming ours as well.Read moreRead less
Sustainable Australian food production within secure global supply chains. This project aims at exploring future pathways for the Australian food system to remain secure under future disruptive changes, environmentally and socially sustainable, and able to offer healthy food choices. It will reveal the connections among food supply chains, diets and human health, and portray a food system that achieves public health and sustainability goals while positioning Australia securely into the global su ....Sustainable Australian food production within secure global supply chains. This project aims at exploring future pathways for the Australian food system to remain secure under future disruptive changes, environmentally and socially sustainable, and able to offer healthy food choices. It will reveal the connections among food supply chains, diets and human health, and portray a food system that achieves public health and sustainability goals while positioning Australia securely into the global supply chain network. These goals will be achieved by creating the Australian Food Lab, which will provide a collaborative research platform for environmental scientists, economists, public health experts, and food industry representatives for investigating issues pertaining to the future of our food system.Read moreRead less
Toward a political ecology of risk in river basin development: The case of the Mekong. This project is designed to examine the distribution and redistribution of risk associated with environmental change and large scale development interventions in the Mekong Region. The research aims to make a theoretical contribution to the rapidly emerging field of political ecology, by moving beyond an analysis of winners and losers based on certainty and post-facto impacts. The study will work toward an ana ....Toward a political ecology of risk in river basin development: The case of the Mekong. This project is designed to examine the distribution and redistribution of risk associated with environmental change and large scale development interventions in the Mekong Region. The research aims to make a theoretical contribution to the rapidly emerging field of political ecology, by moving beyond an analysis of winners and losers based on certainty and post-facto impacts. The study will work toward an analysis driven by the inherent uncertainties that underlie both the social construction and social distribution of environmental risk. The research also has important practical implications for environmental and social assessment methodologies in and beyond the case study region.Read moreRead less
Mapping Australia to identify local, regional, and national values. This project aims to map landscape values and preferences to describe Australia’s human landscape. Landscape values measure place importance; preferences measure social acceptability of development options. When both are mapped for representative populations, they identify potential land conflict, assess the compatibility of zoning and development plans, and prioritise areas for future conservation and development. This project ....Mapping Australia to identify local, regional, and national values. This project aims to map landscape values and preferences to describe Australia’s human landscape. Landscape values measure place importance; preferences measure social acceptability of development options. When both are mapped for representative populations, they identify potential land conflict, assess the compatibility of zoning and development plans, and prioritise areas for future conservation and development. This project will develop a national geospatial database of landscape values using internet-based public participation geographic information systems (PPGIS) and volunteered geographic information (VGI) systems. This can inform future land use planning and development at local, regional, and national levels.Read moreRead less
Caring for Cosmologies: Making Living Maps for West Miyarrka. This project aims to develop a new kind of digital mapping to document endangered forms of knowledge along a coastline under threat from climate change. The project expects to draw on unique Yolngu knowledge practices and representational systems - with traditional owners and managers guiding digital media experts, rangers and artists. Expected outcomes include: 1) expanded Indigenous research capacities and digital expertise; and, 2) ....Caring for Cosmologies: Making Living Maps for West Miyarrka. This project aims to develop a new kind of digital mapping to document endangered forms of knowledge along a coastline under threat from climate change. The project expects to draw on unique Yolngu knowledge practices and representational systems - with traditional owners and managers guiding digital media experts, rangers and artists. Expected outcomes include: 1) expanded Indigenous research capacities and digital expertise; and, 2) access to novel resources for a new generation of Indigenous leaders. Benefits include: enhanced intergenerational and intercultural knowledge transmission and negotiation; methods adaptable to other Indigenous contexts; and greater national recognition of Indigenous seeing and caring for country.Read moreRead less
Effective biodiversity behaviour change across supply chains. Consumption of resources is the major driver of biodiversity loss yet understanding of how to change behavioural drivers is lacking. This project aims to understand barriers to biodiversity behaviours across a supply chain, how to overcome them and increase positive biodiversity impact via spillover effects. We will use coffee as a case study to test specific interventions, design effective message frames for reducing the psychologica ....Effective biodiversity behaviour change across supply chains. Consumption of resources is the major driver of biodiversity loss yet understanding of how to change behavioural drivers is lacking. This project aims to understand barriers to biodiversity behaviours across a supply chain, how to overcome them and increase positive biodiversity impact via spillover effects. We will use coffee as a case study to test specific interventions, design effective message frames for reducing the psychological distance of consumption behaviours and develop a framework for generalising to other behaviours impacting biodiversity. The project is expected to generate new knowledge and approaches critical for policy makers and other actors seeking to reduce consumptive impacts on biodiversity.Read moreRead less
Water Scarcity and rural social hardship - can water markets alleviate the problem? Present review of water resources within catchments of the Murray-Darling Basin will result in reduced access to water for consumptive use with consequential significant socio-economic and community impacts. Water markets are seen as major instruments to assist farmers in managing this process and thereby minimize the impact within rural communities. However, research has identified several barriers to trade an ....Water Scarcity and rural social hardship - can water markets alleviate the problem? Present review of water resources within catchments of the Murray-Darling Basin will result in reduced access to water for consumptive use with consequential significant socio-economic and community impacts. Water markets are seen as major instruments to assist farmers in managing this process and thereby minimize the impact within rural communities. However, research has identified several barriers to trade and several future research needs. This project addresses five of these issues by providing insight into three community barriers to trade as well as a framework for ongoing monitoring, analyses and reporting of market outcomes and impacts to assist adaptive policy development.Read moreRead less
Does monitoring and evaluation improve joint management? The case of national parks in the Northern Territory. Joint Indigenous/government management is to be mainstreamed in 30 national parks and reserves in the Northern Territory over the next few years including some of Australia's iconic natural wonders. This project will identify how participatory monitoring and evaluation enhances the realisation of benefits from joint management, how it can be done cost effectively, and how it can be scal ....Does monitoring and evaluation improve joint management? The case of national parks in the Northern Territory. Joint Indigenous/government management is to be mainstreamed in 30 national parks and reserves in the Northern Territory over the next few years including some of Australia's iconic natural wonders. This project will identify how participatory monitoring and evaluation enhances the realisation of benefits from joint management, how it can be done cost effectively, and how it can be scaled up from six pilot areas to areas across the NT and Australia wide. The project will build capacity of Indigenous Traditional Owners to participate in monitoring and evaluation for improved management and livelihood outcomes for the benefit of not just the residents of these natural areas, but for all Australians. Read moreRead less
Resolving human-flying fox conflict in the face of environmental change. Resolving human-flying fox conflict in the face of environmental change. This project aims to identify socially-acceptable priority areas to be managed for the long-term viability of flying-foxes under a changing climate, and develop strategies to mitigate human-flying fox conflict, using ecological and social analysis in a decision-theoretic framework. Flying-foxes are nationally protected mammals pivotal to Australia’s fo ....Resolving human-flying fox conflict in the face of environmental change. Resolving human-flying fox conflict in the face of environmental change. This project aims to identify socially-acceptable priority areas to be managed for the long-term viability of flying-foxes under a changing climate, and develop strategies to mitigate human-flying fox conflict, using ecological and social analysis in a decision-theoretic framework. Flying-foxes are nationally protected mammals pivotal to Australia’s forest ecosystems, but are threatened by habitat loss, extreme weather and legal culls at orchards. Their exceptional mobility puts them in frequent conflict with human settlements, leading to forced dispersals from roosts. Anticipated outcomes are the conservation of Australia’s flying-foxes and international understanding of how to resolve human conflict with highly mobile species that are threatened but locally abundant and controversial.Read moreRead less
Extreme Heat: A new driver of desert mammal assemblages . Heat waves cause more deaths than any other severe weather event and are becoming longer, more frequent and more intense. Consequently, extreme heat may soon rival predation and rainfall as a major driver of desert mammal assemblages. This project will investigate how heat wave attributes (duration, intensity, frequency), species attributes (physiology, behaviour, plasticity) and landscape features (refuges, fire, grazing) interact and co ....Extreme Heat: A new driver of desert mammal assemblages . Heat waves cause more deaths than any other severe weather event and are becoming longer, more frequent and more intense. Consequently, extreme heat may soon rival predation and rainfall as a major driver of desert mammal assemblages. This project will investigate how heat wave attributes (duration, intensity, frequency), species attributes (physiology, behaviour, plasticity) and landscape features (refuges, fire, grazing) interact and contribute to lethal and sublethal effects of extreme heat on desert mammals. Modelling will predict changes in desert mammal assemblages under different climatic and land management scenarios. Results will inform fire and grazing management, threatened species recovery programs and arid zone restoration. Read moreRead less