Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180101503
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$357,996.00
Summary
Using improved markets to reduce over-extraction of groundwater. This project aims to investigate the key aspects needed for a successful groundwater market, including extraction limits, innovative trading systems and reasonable transaction costs. The outcomes of the project can contribute to environmental benefits that minimise short-term financial losses to irrigators. The project also expects to enhance the capacity of water agencies to implement cap and trade systems that can reduce over-ext ....Using improved markets to reduce over-extraction of groundwater. This project aims to investigate the key aspects needed for a successful groundwater market, including extraction limits, innovative trading systems and reasonable transaction costs. The outcomes of the project can contribute to environmental benefits that minimise short-term financial losses to irrigators. The project also expects to enhance the capacity of water agencies to implement cap and trade systems that can reduce over-extraction.Read moreRead less
Benefits and costs of non-market valuation for environmental management. Benefits from environmental policies are often unpriced “non-market values” (NMVs). Environmental agencies struggle to know how best to measure these relatively intangible benefits, but doing so is important to ensure value for money from public investments. Environmental economists have developed and applied a wide range of methods for estimating NMVs. The methods vary in their comprehensiveness, accuracy and cost. Yet no ....Benefits and costs of non-market valuation for environmental management. Benefits from environmental policies are often unpriced “non-market values” (NMVs). Environmental agencies struggle to know how best to measure these relatively intangible benefits, but doing so is important to ensure value for money from public investments. Environmental economists have developed and applied a wide range of methods for estimating NMVs. The methods vary in their comprehensiveness, accuracy and cost. Yet no rigorous tool is available to assess (a) which NMV method is best to implement, accounting for its cost and its potential to improve decisions, or (b) whether any NMV method improves decisions enough to warrant its cost. In creating such a tool, this project will deliver a key breakthrough in environmental economics.Read moreRead less
Improving payments for ecosystem services efficacy. This project aims to improve the cost-effectiveness of payments for ecosystem services (PES) programs in settings where deforestation risk is high. The project introduces a field experiment in Uganda in order to determine effective methods for monitoring compliance and setting payment levels. The project intends to examine whether program impacts are undermined by displacement of deforestation and if there are poverty reduction trade-offs inher ....Improving payments for ecosystem services efficacy. This project aims to improve the cost-effectiveness of payments for ecosystem services (PES) programs in settings where deforestation risk is high. The project introduces a field experiment in Uganda in order to determine effective methods for monitoring compliance and setting payment levels. The project intends to examine whether program impacts are undermined by displacement of deforestation and if there are poverty reduction trade-offs inherent in program design. The project expects to establish the costs of foregone production from land enrolled in the program, which are largely unknown. The findings will support efforts to create low cost technologies to solve conservation challenges and assist with the efficient allocation of scarce resources for environmental protection in both Australian and international contexts.Read moreRead less
Redesigning Landcare policy to better coordinate across landholders. This project aims to study how landscape-sensitive economic incentives and social norms can be leveraged to enhance the short- and long-term effectiveness of conservation programs. It will yield new knowledge for innovative designs in conservation contracting that is urgently needed to address worsening environmental threats in Australia and worldwide. In collaboration with Nobel laureate Vernon Smith’s team, new methods and pr ....Redesigning Landcare policy to better coordinate across landholders. This project aims to study how landscape-sensitive economic incentives and social norms can be leveraged to enhance the short- and long-term effectiveness of conservation programs. It will yield new knowledge for innovative designs in conservation contracting that is urgently needed to address worsening environmental threats in Australia and worldwide. In collaboration with Nobel laureate Vernon Smith’s team, new methods and protocols will improve our ability to generate better data and better understand how social and incentive mechanisms can constructively interact to facilitate collaborative environmental action. Results will help make the achievement of environmental targets and the use of public funds more cost-effective. Read moreRead less
Non-urban water regulation: next generation compliance & enforcement . This project aims to develop the next generation of regulatory technology in non-urban water compliance and enforcement. Effective technologies are needed to make government regulation more efficient, reduce regulatory burdens and improve compliance with complex laws. This project delivers new ways to optimise regulatory technologies that drive innovation, reduce costs and enhance sustainable water use. Expected outcomes incl ....Non-urban water regulation: next generation compliance & enforcement . This project aims to develop the next generation of regulatory technology in non-urban water compliance and enforcement. Effective technologies are needed to make government regulation more efficient, reduce regulatory burdens and improve compliance with complex laws. This project delivers new ways to optimise regulatory technologies that drive innovation, reduce costs and enhance sustainable water use. Expected outcomes include regulatory guidance strategies and training, advances in applied regulatory theory, and innovative technology tools capturing the complexity of water regulation and supporting decision-making. This will provide public resource savings and ensure fairness and effectiveness of water compliance and enforcement.Read moreRead less
Managing Carbon Offsets to Improve Australian Climate Policy Effectiveness. This project aims to evaluate the Emissions Reduction Fund-Australia’s flagship climate policy-by using a combination of state-of-the-art theoretical and experimental economic methods. This project expects to generate new knowledge by investigating how the use of aggregators (intermediaries) and contract design impact the current regulation. Expected outcomes of this project include a clear scholarly understanding of how ....Managing Carbon Offsets to Improve Australian Climate Policy Effectiveness. This project aims to evaluate the Emissions Reduction Fund-Australia’s flagship climate policy-by using a combination of state-of-the-art theoretical and experimental economic methods. This project expects to generate new knowledge by investigating how the use of aggregators (intermediaries) and contract design impact the current regulation. Expected outcomes of this project include a clear scholarly understanding of how to redesign the regulatory system to deliver better environmental outcomes for less public funds. The insights gained should provide significant benefits to both Federal and State Australian policymakers (as well as policymakers worldwide) on the design and implementation of carbon offsetting mechanisms.Read moreRead less
Innovation in agricultural sector Green House Gas abatement in NSW. This project aims to develop a land sector greenhouse gas abatement, food production and environmental economics model for NSW. We expect to identify innovation in carbon payment policy and brokerage business models to achieve agricultural GHG abatement, while simultaneously improving sustainability. Expected outcomes include evaluation of the innovations of expert landholders, related businesses and governments to find ways to ....Innovation in agricultural sector Green House Gas abatement in NSW. This project aims to develop a land sector greenhouse gas abatement, food production and environmental economics model for NSW. We expect to identify innovation in carbon payment policy and brokerage business models to achieve agricultural GHG abatement, while simultaneously improving sustainability. Expected outcomes include evaluation of the innovations of expert landholders, related businesses and governments to find ways to influence land use decisions. This should provide significant benefits to landholders, governments involved in land management and the public through increased productivity, profitability, biodiversity and ecosystem health in the context of future climate, agricultural commodity and carbon market uncertainties.Read moreRead less
Creating conservation landscapes that effectively safeguard biodiversity. The current extinction crisis creates an imperative to protect remaining habitat wherever it occurs. This project aims to reveal how to improve protection for biodiversity outside of designated Protected Areas by advancing the concept of Conserved Areas, where conservation can be a product of other goals. This project is expected to generate novel insights into how to recognise Conserved Areas, reveal the risks and benefit ....Creating conservation landscapes that effectively safeguard biodiversity. The current extinction crisis creates an imperative to protect remaining habitat wherever it occurs. This project aims to reveal how to improve protection for biodiversity outside of designated Protected Areas by advancing the concept of Conserved Areas, where conservation can be a product of other goals. This project is expected to generate novel insights into how to recognise Conserved Areas, reveal the risks and benefits associated with different type of protection and develop vital tools to ensure these areas effectively conserve biodiversity. Benefits will include a blueprint to meet global environmental commitments using well-designed systems of Protected and Conserved Areas as part of integrated conservation landscapes.Read moreRead less
Industry Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: IL230100175
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,763,434.00
Summary
Combatting wildlife crime and preventing environmental harm. Wildlife crime is one of the greatest threats to environmental and human security across the globe. In Australia, the illegal harvesting, killing, and trade of wild animals and plants endangers the country’s unique biodiversity and poses serious biosecurity risks to natural and agricultural systems. This Fellowship will deliver the intelligence tools and technologies, in wildlife forensics and cyber security, that are required for step ....Combatting wildlife crime and preventing environmental harm. Wildlife crime is one of the greatest threats to environmental and human security across the globe. In Australia, the illegal harvesting, killing, and trade of wild animals and plants endangers the country’s unique biodiversity and poses serious biosecurity risks to natural and agricultural systems. This Fellowship will deliver the intelligence tools and technologies, in wildlife forensics and cyber security, that are required for step-change reductions in wildlife crime in Australia, and Asia-Pacific. The project will establish new approaches for raising public awareness of the dangers of wildlife crime and provide much needed stewardship to protect Australia’s environmental assets and natural capital from current and future threats.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Research Hubs - Grant ID: IH220100016
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,959,803.00
Summary
ARC Research Hub to Advance Timber for Australia’s Future Built Environment. This project aims to transform Australia’s timber and construction sectors by stimulating rapid growth in timber innovation and uptake of use of timber in buildings. It plans to enable this transformation by addressing the diverse elements required to motivate investment, stimulate innovation, satisfy stakeholder demands, define long-term social-environmental-economic benefits and establish a roadmap for change. The exp ....ARC Research Hub to Advance Timber for Australia’s Future Built Environment. This project aims to transform Australia’s timber and construction sectors by stimulating rapid growth in timber innovation and uptake of use of timber in buildings. It plans to enable this transformation by addressing the diverse elements required to motivate investment, stimulate innovation, satisfy stakeholder demands, define long-term social-environmental-economic benefits and establish a roadmap for change. The expected outcomes will kickstart the change process, supported by growth in advanced manufacturing across the value chain. This should provide significant benefits in stimulating an opportunity for regional development and resource diversification whilst helping the sectors transition to a circular and net-zero economy.Read moreRead less