Research Institute for the Environment & Livelihoods www.riel.cdu.edu.au

Introducing the Research Institute for

the Environment & Livelihoods (RIEL)

ANDREW CAMPBELL

CDU, 4 AUGUST 2011

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Outline

• Vision

• Context

• Objectives & Strategies

• Measuring impact

• Research priorities

• Partnerships

RIEL Vision

extraordinary environments

rewarding research

productive partnerships

RIEL solutions

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• The extraordinary environments of our region

• Our people

• High quality scholarship, independence and rigour

• Making a difference, through influential research and

communication

• Indigenous knowledge and connection to land and sea country

• Indigenous engagement, partnerships and capacity-building

• Collegiate teamwork internally, and collaboration externally

• An intellectually stimulating culture that draws people in and

reaches out

• A service orientation that enables influential research

• Measuring and celebrating achievement at all levels

In RIEL, we value:

CONTEXT

regional distinctiveness

• Worldwide, there are only two English-language

universities headquartered in the tropics

− Closest Australian university (JCU) is 2500km away

− CDU is by far the major training provider in the NT

• Relatively intact landscapes and seascapes

− the largest network of free-flowing rivers in the world

− Indo-Malay global epicentre of tropical biodiversity

• Extraordinary cultural heritage, ancient and contemporary

• Rich development opportunities and intense development

pressures

• Strategic national significance given proximity to Asia

CONTEXT

profound technical challenges

• To decouple economic growth from carbon emissions

• To adapt to an increasingly difficult climate

• To increase water productivity

• To increase energy productivity

– while shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy

• To develop more sustainable food systems

– while conserving biodiversity and human livelihoods

– improving landscape amenity, soil health, animal welfare & human health

• TO DO ALL OF THIS SIMULTANEOUSLY!

— improving sustainability and resilience

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Understanding ecological

functions and

processes, and

how they relate to

human livelihoods

and well-being

Informing debate, policy, and

management decisions in

government, industry and

the community

Building long-term environmental research capability

in northern Australia and the region

Research to generate new

knowledge —

discovery science

Integration

& synthesis

of diverse

scientific

outputs

Communication

of research

outputs and

synthesis

products

Training of

postgraduate

students to build

new science

capability

Collaboration

with other

research

agencies and

research end-

users

International

research

projects,

partnerships

and training

RIEL objectives and strategies

12 performance measures across the six strategies

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Measuring impact

RIEL Research Themes

• Natural resources-based Livelihoods

• Coastal and marine ecology and management

• Freshwater ecology and management

• Savanna management and wildlife conservation

• Tropical Resource Futures

Natural Resources-based Livelihoods Dr Natasha Stacey

• How people make a living from natural resources

• How resource-based livelihoods contribute to peoples’

well being

• Articulating cultural and social values

• Providing policy makers and managers with an

understanding of options and their likely ecological,

economic, social and cultural implications

• Payment for Environmental Services

Coastal and marine ecology and management

Prof Karen Gibb

• Ecological functions, processes & patterns of connectivity

• Land-coast-sea linkages

• Marine conservation planning and policy

• Marine biodiversity, from genetic level to whole seascapes

• Biogeochemistry of marine sediments

• Pollutant pathways and processes (e.g. Darwin Harbour)

• Training and consultancy services in molecular and

environmental ecology, chemistry and diagnostics

Freshwater ecology and management Prof Michael Douglas

• Catchment-river-floodplain-estuary linkages

• In-stream ecology and processes

• Water resources values, planning and policy

• TRaCK ($32m) & NERP ($14m) linkages across northern

Australia, with CSIRO, NRETAS, Griffith, UQ, JCU and

UWA

Savanna management and wildlife conservation Prof Keith Christian

• Conservation biology of tropical biodiversity

• Functional ecology of unique fauna

• Savanna ecology and management (especially carbon cycling)

• Sustainable land management

• Disturbance: fire, weeds, pest animals

Tropical Resource Futures Dr Stefan Maier

• Climate-Carbon-Water-Energy-Food system links

• Centre for Renewable Energy

• The carbon economy of the region

• Remote sensing and spatial information

RIEL International Research

• We welcome international partnerships that align with

our research interests

• Especially those that integrate HDR research at CDU

• We have a long track record of research in this region

RIEL postgraduate studies

• Currently under review, with a view to:

• Improving supervision and admin support for students

• Providing more face-to-face training & a more collegiate experience

• Developing leadership skills and career paths

• Improving completion rates

RIEL Partnerships

• Centre for Renewable Energy (with NTG)

• ARPNet (Aboriginal Research Practitioners’ Network)

– Extensive project collaboration with NAILSMA, NLC, CLC

• NERP (National Environmental Research Program)

northern Australia biodiversity hub (and TRaCK)

– and marine biodiversity hub northern node

• NAMRA (North Australian Marine Research Alliance)

• NAFI (North Australian Fire Information)

• ATSEF (Arafura Timor Sea Experts Forum) & CIFOR

• CRN (Collaborative Research Network — with TNI) 17

some RIEL big ideas

• Integrated knowledge system for Darwin Harbour

• Designing the carbon economy of northern Australia

• ‘Blue carbon’ in south-east Asia

• A regional network of Livelihoods and Indigenous

Research Practitioners

• Policy frameworks for large-scale resource developments

• Charles Darwin Chair in Evolutionary Biology

• Biodiversity conservation at landscape scale

• TRaCK (Tropical Rivers & Coastal Knowledge) 18

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• in establishing RIEL, CDU is aiming high

• we should be among Australia's best environmental

research institutes

• to aim for anything less is to sell ourselves short, and to

underplay the challenges and opportunities of the region

• we have a great platform, but we can do much more,

internally and with our partners

• this launch is cause for celebration

• thanks for joining us!

Reflections

www.riel.cdu.edu.au