Increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of Australian threatened bird conservation
Project Team: Prof Stephen Garnett, Prof Hugh Possingham (UQ), Dr Stuart Butchart (Bird Life International), Dr Judit Szabo, Dr Heather Aslin, Dr Michael Weston (Deakin University), Prof Brian Head (University of Queensland), Gill Ainsworth, Tim Holmes (University of Quennsland)
Partners: University of Queensland, Bird Life International, Australian Wildlife Conservancy
Funding: ARC Linkage (2010-2012)
This project aims to:
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analyse up to thirty years of research and management of Australia’s threatened birds, drawing out the biological, social, economic and institutional correlates of success. The creation of links between such a broad suite of variables and threatened species recovery has never been attempted
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develop an approach that can help policy makers and managers choose the bird conservation interventions that are most likely to be successful
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determine the cost of interventions and strategies for optimal investment
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provide a review of status trends for an entire continental avifauna at a variety of spatial and genetic scales
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provide guidance to conservation managers on how to allocate resources among threatened species.
Two PhDs are associated with this project. One, being undertaken by Gill Ainsworth at CDU, is investigating social values of Australian threatened birds; and the other, being undertaken by Tim Holmes at the University of Queensland, is investigating institutional aspects of Australian bird conservation.
The ethics of birdwatching
Project team: Heather Aslin, David Bennett, Indigenous Community Volunteers
Funding: CDU internal funds
Birdwatching, ‘twitching’ or ‘birding’ is a very popular recreational activity, particularly in western developed nations. This project is reviewing the literature on birdwatching, examining the rules and codes of ethics that guide it, and developing some conclusions about underlying value and attitude positions among birdwatchers and their organisations.
Does Monitoring and Evaluation Improve Joint Management? The Case of National Parks in the Northern Territory
Project team: Peter Whitehead, Stephen Garnett, Natasha Stacey, Arturo Izurieta
Partners: Department of Natural Resources, Environment and the Arts, Traditional Owners, Northern Land Council, Central Land Council
Funding: ARC (2008-2010), NLC, CLC, NRETA
This project will identify whether monitoring and evaluation with the participation of stakeholders, including Indigenous Traditional Owners, enhances the benefits of joint management of parks and reserves in Australia. It will determine the elements required to implement participatory monitoring and evaluation in a cost effective manner, even in situations where stakeholders differ in views and power. It will answer central questions facing natural resource managers, including: To what extent can synergies between conservation goals and development goals be an outcome of integrated conservation and development initiatives? Can participation in monitoring and evaluation empower stakeholders and improve outcomes?
View Monitoring and Evaluation of Joint Management Page >>
Fire and Biodiversity in New Caledonia Ecosystems (INC project)
Project team from Australia: Alan Andersen (CSIRO), Adam Liedloff (CSIRO) and Hmalan Hunter-Xenie
Funding: CSIRO, Agence Nationale de la Recherche
New Caledonia is one of the world's biodiversity hot spots. However, anthropogenic fires are becoming more threatening to ecosystems and human populations as they increase in number, frequency, and area. The INC project is analysing the interactions between New Caledonia ecosystems, cultural and social practices, climate, and fire, with the aim of developing a Geographic Information System (GIS) for the integrated monitoring of these components though time and space. Forests, maquis and savannas are being analysed in terms of fuels, vegetation and invertebrate biodiversity. Human practices related to fire are being studied through interviews in representative regions. Meteorology and climate are being analysed and modelled over New Caledonia to improve the fire weather index. Fire regimes for each ecosystem are being described using remote sensing. Fire behaviour is being modelled using BEHAVE.
All these components will be implemented in an Information System (IS) combining the GIS and a Dynamic Bayesian Network to model the fire risk (and uncertainties) on biodiversity loss. The IS will be further developed into an operational Warming System for land and biodiversity management.
Modelling Payments for Environmental Services on Indigenous held lands
Project team: Kerstin Zander, Adam Drucker, Riccardo Scarpa
Partners:
Funding: ARC Discovery Grant (2009 - 2012)
Proposals to pay for environmental services can enable indigenous natural resource managers to provide services that can be valued and for which payments are directly made. However valuation of these services cannot be done using traditional market based methods because of their public good character and their various non-market benefits. It is also essential to know which services indigenous people are willing to provide from their land, a question never previously quantified. This proposal applies choice modelling to (1) assess willingness-to-pay for environmental services provided by indigenous people on their land, (2) willingness of indigenous people to provide those services and (3) find efficient allocation schemes for the payments.
TRaCK 1.2 Change Stories
Project team: Owen Stanley , Hmalan Hunter-Xenie
Please visit the TRaCK website for more information: www.track.gov.au
Trans-boundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) for the Arafura and Timor Seas Ecosystem Action Program (ATSEA)
Project team: Natasha Stacey.
Funding: Arafura and Timor Seas (ATSEF) Regional Secretariat, Indonesian Agency of Marine and Fisheries Research, Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (DKP), Global Environment Facility.
Consultancy to build capacity building relating to the TDA for the ATSEA Program for Indonesia, Timor Leste and Australia.
Recently completed research
Valuing and Managing the Ecosystem Services of Tropical Rivers
Project team: Anna Straton (CSIRO), Sue Jackson (CSIRO), Nick Abel, Stephen Garnett and Kerstin Zander
Partners: CSIRO
Funding: National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality, and Land & Water Australia’s Environmental Water Allocation and Tropical Rivers Programs
The tropical river systems of northern Australia are facing increasing development pressure. These river systems form a fundamental part of the northern landscape and support critical values of the tropical savannas of Australia. Proposals for development need to consider economic, social, cultural and environmental values and impacts. This project will investigate the value of tropical river ecosystem services and the management mechanisms that are capable of maintaining these values. This project will identify the ecosystem services underpinning economic, social and cultural activities and environmental assets in 3 case study tropical river systems, one each in Qld, the NT and WA. Key ecosystem services will be chosen for further exploration of the relationships between land-use impacts, ecosystem processes, and economic, social, cultural and/or environmental values. The drivers and institutional arrangements surrounding land-uses will be identified to underpin the development of management options that can maintain these values. Management options will be evaluated for their cost-effectiveness and triple-bottom line impacts. This project will be based in participatory, cross-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder research principles, and in frameworks and methodologies that enable the less visible or non-market values and costs of development scenarios to be estimated and integrated into decision-making.
Assessing Traditional Ecological Knowledge of Whale Sharks (Rhincodon typus) in Eastern Indonesia: A Pilot Study with Fishing Communities in Nusa Tenggara Timur
Project team: Natasha Stacey, Johanna Karam, Mark Meekan (AIMS)
Partners: Australian Institute of Marine Science
Funding: National Heritage Trust, Department of the Environment and Water Resources
In Australia, whale sharks are highly valued for ecotourism and a large tourism industry has built-up around the aggregation of whale sharks at Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia. However, little is known about the migration of these populations beyond Australian waters.
This project will look at the Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) held by Bajo fishers about the migration and behaviour of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) from the waters off the Western Australian coast into eastern Indonesia. The research will also investigate potential human threats facing whale sharks at identified aggregation areas in eastern Indonesia. The results of the research will complement research being undertaken by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) to track whale shark movement in the waters north of Australia and form the basis of recommendations for extending this study to other locations in eastern Indonesia. The project will contribute towards developing collaborative conservation and management measures for whale shark populations across international borders.
Download the Final Report (.pdf 3MB) >>
Business Support for Contract Mine-Site Rehabilitation Tiwi Islands
Project team: Kate Hadden, Ram Vermuri, Stephen Garnett
Partners: Tiwi Land Council, Pirntubula, Milikapiti Community Management Board, Tiwi Terrestrial Ranger Programme, Tiwi Land Council facilitator
Funding: Natural Heritage Trust, Great Southern Plantations, Pirntubula
This project aims to establish a new enterprise that will provide a contract rehabilitation service across the Tiwi Islands. Markets have already been established with Matilda Minerals Pty Ltd for contract mine rehabilitation, and there are ongoing opportunities for the direct sale of plants and landscaping contracts. Initial support to the business will be through wages subsidised by CDEP, and support form the Tiwi Terrestrial Ranger Programme. Business planning will be undertaken with support from CDU, and business operational support will initially be through Pirntubula Pty Ltd, a well established Tiwi owned business trading as trustee of the Tiwi Islands Community Trust. This initial subsidisation will allow a crucible period that will provide a supportive environment as people move from CDEP to full employment. It will also provide a low risk window for assessment and fine tuning in the early stages. After two years, it is intended that a profitable business will be operating without subsidised labour or other economic support. In the longer term, the enterprise should become the preferred contractor for all revegetation works on the Tiwi Islands. It also has the potential to become the model for other locally owned small enterprise on the Tiwi Islands.
Daly Landscape Design for Maintaining Ecosystem Services in Tropical Agricultural Landscapes
Project team: Adam Drucker, Kerstin Zander, Gill Ainsworth
Funding: Land and Water Australia
Dambimangari Social Impact Assessment
Project team: Stephen Garnett; Dermot Smyth, Hmalan Hunter-Xenie, Natasha Stacey, Ram Vemuri, Tanya Vernes
Funding: Dambimangari Aboriginal Corporation, Mt Gibson Iron Limited
This project aims to identify community development, employment, education, training, environmental management, business development and other opportunities arising from the impact of mining on the Dambimangari peoples of the Kimberley region. The project will provide advice on the effective use of royalty payments from the Mt Gibson Iron mine on Koolan Island, Western Australia and is intended to assist with the economic and social development of the Dambimangari people.
Developing Techniques for Measuring the Performance of Conservation and Development Programs
Project team: Bruce Campbell (CIFOR), Jeff Sayer (WWF International), Terry Sunderland (CIFOR), Stephen Garnett, Manuel Ruiz Perez (University of Madrid), Karah Wertz
Partners: the Center for International Forestry Research, WWF, WCS
Funding: World Bank and the MacArthur Foundation
This project seeks to develop and implement an approach to measure the environmental outcomes and changes in peoples’ livelihoods resulting from landscape-scale conservation interventions.
The approach involves the selection of simple sets of performance indicators through participatory processes with a variety of stakeholders. Social learning techniques are also used to help stakeholders develop greater understandings of landscape system dynamics and the linkages between livelihood and conservation objectives. In collaboration with WWF and CIFOR, the project team has already run three workshops to develop and test the approach in field sites in Africa (Morocco, Central African Republic and Tanzania).From 2006, the approach will be further implemented and refined in field sites in the Lower Mekong (Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos).
- Garnett, S. T., J. Sayer and J. Du Toit 2007. Improving the Effectiveness of Interventions to Balance Conservation and Development: a Conceptual Framework. Ecology and Society 12 (1): 2. [online] URL: www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol12/iss1/art2/
Dugong and Marine Turtle Project Partner Feedback Survey
Project team: Natasha Stacey, Lisa Petheram, Gill Ainsworth
Funding: Internal consultancy
This project has been conducted as part of an evaluation for the NAILSMA – Tropical Savannas - CRC Dugong and Marine Turtle Project (DMTP). The survey was conducted to help evaluate the effectiveness of project management and delivery, communication between partners and awareness-raising about the project in general. It also considered the strengths, weaknesses and benefits of the project. It is hoped that results from this survey will guide development of similar future cross-regional projects involving multiple stakeholders. It will also provide valuable information if this project is funded for a second phase.
Economic Analysis of Fire Management on Cape York Peninsula
Project team: Marty Luckert, Adam Drucker, Gabriel Crowley, Stephen Garnett, Peter Thompson, Joe Rolfe, Bill Holmes
Partners: Cape York Peninsula Development Association, Queensland Department of Primary Industries
Funding: Cape York Peninsula Development Association, Cape York Peninsula Landcare Program
Fire is one of the few tools available to pastoral managers on Cape York Peninsula and substantial sums are spent establishing and maintaining firebreaks through the dry season. Without breaks fire can remove fodder, destroy infrastructure and, under some circumstances, induce thickening of the vegetation and loss of biodiversity. This study worked with fire and pastoral managers and scientists to ascertain the costs and benefits of different fire management strategies. The work is the start of a project that assist fire managers make decisions about the best burning strategy and the circumstances under which fire management, control and information provision can be justified as an institutionalised government service.
- Garnett, S.T., Crowley, G.M., Drucker, A.D., Gobius, N., Holmes, W.E., Luckert, M., Miller, C.M., Rolfe, J., Seabrook, W., Thompson, P. and Trueman, M. 2006. Economics of Alternative Fire Management Strategies on a Cape York Peninsula Cattle Property. Results of the Artemis workshop, August 2006. Report to Cape York Peninsula Landcare Program. (full text .pdf, 691KB)
- Crowley, G.M. and Garnett, S.T. 2000. Changing fire management in the pastoral lands of Cape York Peninsula of northeast Australia, 1623-1996. Australian Geographical Studies 38:10-26.
Economics of Camel Control in the Central Region of the Northern Territory
Project team: Adam Drucker
Funding: Desert Knowledge CRC
Feasibility Study for North Queensland Tropical Birding Trails
Project team: Stephen Garnett, Noel Preece, Penny van Oosterzee
Partners: EcOz Environmental Services, CRC Sustainable Tourism, Birds Australia North Queensland, Townsville Bird Observers Club of Australia
Funding: North Queensland Area Consultative Committee, Burdekin Shire Council, Cardwell Shire Council, Dalrymple Shire Council, Hinchinbrook Shire Council, Charters Towers City Council, Thuringowa City Council, Townsville City Council
The North Queensland Tropical Birding Trails (NQTBT) concept was developed to promote bird-watching destinations in the Townsville Enterprise Region. This study found that the market potential of the nature-based segment is likely to be in the vicinity of $75 to $150 million, and the segment interested in watching birds as a part of their experiences would generate about 10% to 20% of this. Over 50 sites were identified to have special birding attributes, of which 20 within six local government regions were considered to be high value sites for the quality of the bird-watching experience and for the species and variety of birds present. The report recommends judicious investment in the NQTBT, as the information available at present on which to base investment decisions is insubstantial. Returns from investment need to be assessed from the results of a staged development program. Monitoring of the success of each stage of the development is recommended, with feedback from the monitoring results informing future actions and works.
- Garnett, S.T., Preece, N. and van Oosterzee, P. 2006. Feasibility Study prepared for North Queensland tropical birding trails. Unpublished report to NQTBT.
Healthy Country: Healthy People
Project team: Team Leader: David Bowman 2003-April 2007; Stephen Garnett: April 2007- ; Environmental Group, David Bowman CDU, Don Franklin CDU, Owen Price NRETA, Barry Brook Uni Adelaide, Aaron Petty CDU, Grant Williamson CDU, Louis Elliott CDU; Health Group: Fay Johnston CDU, Paul Burgess CDU , Susan Jacklyn CDU, Amy-Jo Vickery CDU, Kerin O’Dea UniMelb Policy Group: Bev Sithole, Consultant, Tess Lea, CDU, Peter Whitehead, NRETA, Stephen Garnett, CDU.
Partners: the traditional owners of west Arnhem Land, the Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation, the Northern Land Council and the Northern Territory Government.
Funding: Land and Water Australia, The Northern Territory Government, National Health and Medical Research Council, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander Studies, Pfizer.
The Healthy Country, Healthy People study investigated the close connections between Indigenous people, their ancestral lands and the impacts this may have on the health of landscapes as well as the physical health and well-being of populations.
For the first time, the health of people actively involved in caring for country was compared with that of people not engaged. Health and ethnographic research was employed to compare health indicators among a range of Indigenous people in the collaborating community. Environmental research compared various measures of ecological health under different types of tenure and management.
The researchers conclude that investment in natural and cultural resource management activities in Indigenous communities would deliver a healthier people, a higher quality environment, sustainable economic development opportunities and has the potential to deliver significant economic savings in health care expenditure.
- Johnston, F.H, Jacklyn, S.P, Vickery, A. Bowman, D.J.M.S. (in press) Ecohealth and Aboriginal testimony of the nexus between human health and place. Ecohealth.
- Bowman, D.M.J.S., Franklin, D.C., Price, O.F., Brook, B.W. (In press). Land management affects grass biomass in the Eucalyptus tetrodonta savannas of monsoonal Australia. Austral Ecology. 32: 446-452
- Burgess, C.P., Johnston, F.H., Bowman, D.M.L.S. and Whitehead, P.J. 2005. Healthy Country, Healthy People? Exploring the health benefits of Indigenous natural resource management. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health 29: 117-122.
- Franklin, D.C., Petty, A.M., Williamson, G.J., Brook, B.W., Bowman, D.M.J.S.
(Submitted). Monitoring contrasting land management in the savanna
landscapes of northern Australia. Environmental Management.
- Elliott, L.P., Franklin, D.C., Bowman, D.M.J.S. (Submitted). Grass, fire frequency and human settlement in Eucalyptus miniata savannas of the Darwin region of northern Australia. International Journal of Wildland Fire.
- Johnston, F.H, Jacklyn, S.P, Vickery, A. Bowman, D.J.M.S, (Submitted) Ecohealth and Aboriginal testimony of the nexus between human health and place.
Media Release (8th May)
Burgess, C.P. and Johnstone, F.H. 2007. Indigenous Natural and Cultural Resource Management and Health. Debriefing paper 8 May 2007
Newsletter #1 (Feb 05)
Newsletter #2 (July 05)
Newsletter #3 (Feb 06)
Newsletter #4 (Oct 06)
Improving the Livelihoods of Poor Livestock-Keepers in Africa through Community-Based Management of Indigenous Farm Animal Genetic Resources
Project team: Adam Drucker, Kerstin Zander, Workneh Ayalew, Isabelle Baltenweck, Lemma Gizachew, Haro Guyo, Olorounto Delphin Koudandé, Clemens Wollny, Brigitte Kaufmann, Anne Valle Zárate, Annette von Lossau
Partners: Institute of Animal Production in the Tropics and Subtropics, Department of Animal Breeding and Husbandry in the Tropics and Subtropics, Hohenheim University, Germany. Laboratory for Animal Science, Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries, INRAB, Benin. Egerton University, Kenya. GTZ Agro-biodiversity Program, Germany
Funding: BMZ, Germany
This project aims to improve the livelihoods of poor livestock-keepers through the conservation and sustainable use of indigenous animal genetic resources(AnGR). This is achieved through the empowerment of local communities, through an improvement of their analytical, technical, managerial and organisational skills to manage their AnGR, in order to reduce poverty and food insecurity. The project works across a number of sites in Benin, Ethiopia and Kenya.
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Importance of Economic Valuation of Smallholder Producer Cattle Trait Preferences for Breeding Programme Design in Eastern Africa, in the Context of Trypanotolerance: Case of Kenya and Ethiopia
Project team: Emily Ouma, Adam Drucker and Awudu Abdulai
Partners: Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, ETHZ, Switzerland and University of Kiel, Germany
Funding: ZIL, Switzerland
The aim of this Ph.D. study is to assess smallholder farmer genetic preferences for cattle traits, in the context of trypanotolerance in selected production systems in eastern Africa. Specifically, the study seeks: i) to determine the socio–economic reasons for keeping cattle among cattle keeping households across a range of production systems in eastern Africa, as well as their breeding practices and development objectives; ii) to identify and estimate producer preferences for cattle traits and identify factors driving the preference structure; iii) to determine whether characterization in terms of breed improvement for various production systems is necessary based on producer preferences estimated in (ii) above; iv) To investigate routes by which cattle keepers can access genetically improved livestock and identify obstacles to access of this technology; and (v) to draw recommendations and policy implications on the basis of the study results.
Read more here>>
Remote Sensing and the Economics of Fire Management for Sustainable Pastoralism
Project team: Adam Drucker, Stephen Garnett and Niilo Gobius (James Cook University)
Partners: Cape York Peninsula Development Association, Cape York Peninsula Landcare Committee, Mitchell River Watershed Management Group, Peninsula Cattleman’s Association and the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries
Funding: DAFF, National Landcare Programme (Natural Resource Innovation Grant)
This project will model and investigate the economics of fire management on the Cape York Peninsula using current and historical individual pastoral property financial records, environmental trend records, and remotely-sensed fire scar imagery. A set of pastoral properties will be assessed as to the relative use of ‘early’, ‘dry’ or ‘storm’ burning and the resulting effect of achieving property management objectives (such as restricting dry season fires, maintaining healthy cattle, preventing/reversing woody thickening).
Results, which will have applications throughout northern Australia, will permit pastoralists to gain improved understanding of the overall relevance of fire to sustainable production and environments, while development and natural resource management agencies will gain valuable economic information regarding the coordination of fire management on pastoral properties, conservation areas and indigenous lands.
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