CERF Final Report 2011

CERF Final Report 2011

Commonwealth Environment Research Facilities

Map of Australia showingapprox. locations of CERF research

Commonwealth Environment Research Facilities (CERF)

CERF Final Report

Contents

CERF Research Hubs, Significant Project & Fellowshipspage 1

CERF Program Objectivespage 5

CERF Program Outcomespage 5

CERF Communications page 7

CERF Reference Grouppage 8

CERF Program Evaluationpage 9

Commonwealth Environment Research Facilities

The Commonwealth Environment Research Facilities (CERF) was the first in a series of Australian Government programs committed to world-class public good environmental research. The$100millionCERFprogram aimed to improve Australia’s capacity to understand and respond to priority environmental concerns; drawing on: multiple disciplines, professional partnerships and existing research efforts.

Research Hubs, Significant Projects and Fellowship

Table 1 CERF Research Hubs, Fellowships and Significant Projects

Research Hub/Significant Project / Fellowship Title

/

Lead Researcher and Institution

/

CERF funding

Research Hubs

Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility (MTSRF) / A consortium of research institutions, including administration undertaken by the Reef and Rainforest Research Centre (RRRC) / $40,000,000
Tropical Rivers and Coastal Knowledge (TRACK) / Prof Michael Douglas
(Charles Darwin University) / $8,800,000
Applied Environmental Decision Analysis (AEDA) / Prof Hugh Possingham
(Queensland University) / $7,562,500
Landscape Logic: Linking Land and Water to Resource Condition / Prof Ted Lefroy
(University of Tasmania) / $8,756,000
Australian Marine Mammal Centre (AMMC) / Dr Nicholas Gales
(Australian Antarctic Division) / $2,500,000
Prediction and Management of Australia’s Marine Biodiversity / Prof Nicholas Bax (CSIRO)
(University of Tasmania) / $6,600,000
Taxonomy Research Information Network (TRIN) / Dr Judy West
(Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, CSIRO) / $6,060,000
Environmental Economics Research Hub (EERH) / Prof Jeff Bennett
(Australian National University) / $7,040,000

Fellowships

Drought and aquatic ecosystems: impacts and responses / Prof Phillip (Sam) Lake
(Monash University) / $150,000
Waterholes in a changing climate: hydrological vulnerability and implications for ecological services and cultural values / Dr Stephen Hamilton, Michigan State University, USA
(Griffith University) / $155,345
Developing a basis for a long-term ecological research (LTER) network in Australia and a systematic approach to environmental monitoring / Prof Gene Likens, Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY
(Australian National University) / $182,349
Ecosystem model analysis to address fisheries management issues in south eastern Australia and the implications of climate change / Dr Reginald Watson , University of British Columbia, B C
(University of Tasmania) / $168,960
Development of an Autonomous (Acoustic) Biodiversity Monitoring System / Prof Gordon Grigg
(University of Queensland) / $379,806

Significant Projects

Predicting and monitoring climate change in insects; from genes to distribution shifts / Prof Ary Hoffmann
(University of Melbourne) / $825,000
Volunteer monitoring of the state of Australian rocky reef communities / Dr Graham Edgar
(University of Tasmania) / $810,776
Using tree rings of an Australian conifer as a bio-indicator of decadal-scale environmental change / Prof David Bowman
(University of Tasmania) / $799,336
Sustainable farms: future pathways for rural landscapes / Prof Stephen Dovers
(Australian National University) / $913,498
INFFER: INvestment Framework For Environmental Resources / Professor David Pannell
(University of Western Australia) / $1,430,928
Determining watering regimes to protect floodplains under hyper-drought conditions / Dr Darren Baldwin
Murray- Darling Freshwater Research Centre(La Trobe University) / $1,134,883
Improving economic accountability when using decentralised, collaborative approaches to environmental decisions / Dr Graham Marshall
(University of New England) / $436,090
Optimising weed risk management investment through improved spatial distribution and benefit cost analysis modelling / Assoc Prof SamanthaSetterfield
Charles Darwin University / $504,914
Climate futures for Tasmania: prospects, impacts and information for adaptation options / Assoc Prof Nathan Bindoff
Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC / $1,226,457
Order with and without law: understanding perceptions and attitudes towards formal and informal controls of environmental resource transgressions / Dr Elaine Barclay
University of New England / $232,720

CERF Program Objectives

The CERF program had a number of objectives. The high level objective was to address the unique and varied environmental challenges facing Australia in a sustainable and innovative way; with an aim to contribute to improving Australia’s capacity to understand and respond to current and emerging priorities for the conservation and use of the nation’s environmental assets.

More specifically, the program’s objective was to improve the ability of government, industry and community to understand the natural resource system and its human impacts and use this information to guide decision making. It also aimed to develop approaches so as to more efficiently and effectively monitor the condition of the natural system with the view to identifying threats and risks and improving our aptitude to manage and respond to these threats and risks through change.

The CERF objectives were described as:

• to disburse $100 million over four years to expand and strengthen public good environmental research;
• to build research capacity across institutions and disciplines;
• to make use of existing research efforts; and
• to provide tools and decision matrix for policy and decision makers.

CERF Program Outcomes

The CERF Program developed research knowledge on the environment and human impacts; it created links and information flows between researchers and environmental policy makers and managers. It boosted Australia’s ability to improve the research and knowledge development processes as well as the capacity to support environmental decisionsbenefiting environmental outcomes.

An evaluation of the program identified that CERFresearch resulted in quality outcomes that are likely to, or are being applied by research users; and thatthe leaders of CERF Hubs, Significant Projects and Fellowships are respected by both end users and the research sector.It also found that the CERF program hadleveragedconsiderable financial support from organisations other than the Australian government to support public good environmental research.

The CERF program improved the capacity of researchers and their organisations to work in an interdisciplinary way to address environmental issues.Researchers worked collaboratively across disciplines, conducting research in partnership using different forms of knowledge. CERF researches worked with communities and end users resulting in critical research outputs focused on the public good, rather than commercial gain.

The following are examples of CERF research outcomes:

Professor Ary Hoffman and his colleagues at the University of Melbourne presented some important research on genetic changes using the dengue mosquito. They have shown not only how genetic diversity is central to the long-term resilience of a species, but also how genetic diversity collapses when populations become small and isolated. They found that species threatened by factors such as loss of habitat become increasingly vulnerable due to lowered genetic diversity.

Professor Steve Williams and his team at MTSRF,recently rediscovered a small population of Lemuroid Ringtail Possums. These possums continue to be highly vulnerable to climate change due to their shrinking high altitude habitat. On the other hand, they found that the Thornton Peak Nursery Frog, a highly specialised species also thought to be under threat, is likely to persist in its unique and robust habitat as it lives within piles of boulders on top of a mountain. This research has increased our knowledge of which species may survive climate change and which mayl not. It lends weight to the case for a well informed and preventative approach to conservation management, rather than a band-aid solution. It also helps us look for ways to tackle threats already affected by climate change. We can identify species that are most at risk of extinction and set aside appropriate refugia that will allow populations and genetic diversity to recover, redirecting resources accordingly.

Internationally, the work of PhD student Oscar Venter and Dr Kerrie Wilson from CERF’s AEDA hub informed climate change policy, showing that assisting developing nations to preserve their forests is an effective way to combat increased emissions. It’s work like this that backs major government investment – like the investment into the International Forest Carbon Initiative, helping to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.

The research from Professor Nic Bax and his team from the Marine Biodiversity hub has been invaluable for marine bio-regional planning: providing distribution data for target species, and developing modelling tools that compare economic and conservation values to ensure the protection, conservation and sustainable use of our oceans.

Also in the marine environment, the outstanding research by Dr Nick Gales and CERF’s Australian Marine Mammal Centre into the migration and habitats of the Humpback, Blue and Antarctic Minke whales. This adds to the body of evidence demonstrating that whale fishing is not required to study these species and their habitat.

Nathan Bindoff’s Climate Futures for Tasmania has produced some of the most advanced fine-scaled climate projections available for the agricultural regions of Tasmania. These projections are at a scale that will enable government, business and farmers to better understand the negative and positive impacts of a changing climate on agriculture, and the merits and costs of adaptation strategies.

Darren Baldwin’s projectjustifies flooding regimes in semi-arid regions of the Murray Darling Basin. This project is essential for MDBA in setting the environmental watering regime for the basin. The project proves that to maintain ecological condition, semi-arid forested floodplains should be inundated at least once every 3-4 years for a period of at least 4-6 months at a time. This regime suits the establishment of an aquatic vegetation community and ensures river-floodplain connectivity.

CERF Communications

The CERF program successfully established a dialogue between researchers and policy makers identifying research and policy needs.

CERF research was communicated to the Department through a variety of ways:

• Annual conference held in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 presenting CERF research to the Department and other researchers;
• Research presentations to the Departmentthroughout the four years focusing particular on research projects aimed at in particular line areas
• A CERF website with supporting documents and CERF procedures ; and
• A link to the eight CERF Hub websitescontaining information on Hub research projects, researcher details and research outputs. The Significant Projects and Fellowship established websites where available.

The purpose of the annual CERF conference was to report on the Hubs, Significant Projects and Fellowships’research progress and present them to the Department. The conferences facilitated dialogue between policy and research. Each conference built on previous conferences delivering the strengths and identifying the weaknesses of the program. The final conference celebrated the end of the CERF program by communicating the final research results by CERF researchers.

Many hundred journal articles, documents and pamphlets have been produced as outputs of the CERF program. See the front map of Australia for an approximate location of CERF research throughout Australia – details are available via the CERF Mapper.

CERF Reference Group

The CERF Reference Group advised the Minister on the successful bids for the $100 million Commonwealth Environment and Research Facilities (CERF) program.They identified appropriate national research investments and ensured funding applications were backed by a high degree of scientific rigor and strategic thinking.It was made up of leading members of Australia’s environment research community.

The following were members of the CERF Reference Group:

Chair Greg Bourne CEO WWF Australia

Prof Angela Arthington Griffith University

Prof David Bowman University of Tasmania

Mr Andrew Campbell Triple Helix Consulting Pty Ltd

Prof Peter Davies University of Western Australia

Prof Steven Halls Murdoch University

Professor Alfred Huang University of South Australia

Professor Bruce Mapstone Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems CRC

Dr Deborah Peterson VIC Productivity Commission

Prof Warren Musgrave Economist

Assoc. Prof Bob Beeton University of Queensland

Prof Mark Burgman University of Melbourne

Prof Adrienne Clarke University of Melbourne

Dr Graham Harris ESE Systems Pty Ltd

Professor Ted Lefroy University of Tasmania

CERF Program Evaluation

Complying with the department’s program evaluation framework,an independent mid term review was undertaken onthe CERF programto assess whether the itwas on track. This review was done with the help of key researchers, stakeholders and the department. Some minor adjustments were made in response to recommendations from the review to optimise the final outcome of the CERF program. Then a final CERF program evaluation was conducted between September 2009 and June 2010. The final evaluation summary report is available from the CERF website.

The evaluation report identifies some short falls in achieving the CERF program’s original objectives and identifies areas for improvement. The evaluation found that CERF’s longer term environmental outcomes were ambitious and unlikely to be achieved within the life of a four year program. However, these outcomes would be appropriate for an ongoing program. It alsofound that there was a lack of formal systems or processes for promoting the use of research across the Department.

Recommendations from the final CERF evaluation report were considered during the design and development of CERF’s successor, the National Environmental Research Program (NERP). NERP builds on lessons learned from the CERF program.

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