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Department of Climate Change, Energy, Enviroment and Water

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  3. National Environmental Science Program
  4. Emerging priorities funding

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  • National Environmental Science Program
    • Phase 1
      • Clean Air and Urban Landscapes Hub
      • Marine Biodiversity Hub
      • Threatened Species Recovery Hub
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    • NESP News

Emerging priorities funding

The National Environmental Science Program (NESP) allocates funding to respond to the changing needs of environmental decision-makers. Under phase 1 of the program, this was delivered through a separate pool of funding administered by the department. The second phase of NESP is taking a different approach, with each hub having responsibility for meeting emerging priorities under its funding allocation.

Emerging priorities project snapshots from phase 1

National flying fox monitoring

The national flying fox monitoring project built reliable population estimates and supported responsive management of 2 nationally protected flying fox species. The project provided key data for decision-making for flying fox conservation and regulation. It also helped inform responses to public concerns about the impact of flying foxes on industry, amenity and public health.

A national review and proposed action plan for Myrtle Rust

This project addressed the environmental threat posed by the exotic and aggressive fungal plant pathogen Myrtle Rust (Puccinia psidii, known overseas as eucalyptus rust). It delivered a comprehensive review of the Myrtle Rust threat in Australia and a draft action plan.

Climate change and bushfire research initiative—Tasmania

This project led to the development of high-priority tools and research products to help protect the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area from adverse impacts of wildfire. The findings are presented in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area Climate Change and Bushfire Research Initiative final report.

Spatial distribution of marine wildlife in Bremer Bay—Western Australia

A recent project surveyed marine life in the Bremer region, Western Australia, including in the Bremer Commonwealth Marine Reserve. Knowledge gained will support Australian Government decision-making to protect the environment and biodiversity. It will also allow for sustainable marine use and help to prioritise future research.

Projects

Approved in 2020-21

Title Status Organisation Budget Description
National Outfalls Database Completed Clean Ocean Foundation $127,000 (GST exclusive) This project addressed the need of government and the community to understand the impacts on health and the ocean environment that occur from sewerage outfalls around Australia.

Approved in 2019-20

Title Status Organisation Budget Description
Invasive fish control research Ongoing Griffith University $65,000 (GST exclusive) This project aims to identify priority areas and actions to reduce the impact of the invasive fishes Spotted Tilapia and Mozambique Tilapia on northern Australian freshwater ecosystems.

Title Status Organisation Budget Description
Norfolk Island birds Ongoing Director of National Parks $401,500 (GST inclusive) The Norfolk Island Morepork and the Norfolk Island Green Parrot, priority species under the Threatened Species Strategy, need urgent management intervention to avoid the possibility of extinction. To support on-ground decision-making, Parks Australia will lead research to improve understanding of the populations, range movements, breeding success, and genetic structure of these species.

Approved in 2018-19

Title Status Organisation Budget Description
Cid Harbour Shark Research Ongoing Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries $250,000 (GST inclusive) This project was constrained by COVID-19, because the tourists it sought to target were largely not present in the region. This pilot research project identified gaps in the knowledge base and further research is required to develop effective guidance for human behaviours. The report can be found on the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries website.

Approved in 2017-18

Title Status Organisation Budget Description
National Food Waste Baseline Completed Arcadis $199,962 (GST exclusive)

This research project aimed to underpin implementation of the National Food Waste Strategy, which aims to halve Australia’s food waste by 2030. The project set out to establish a national food waste baseline and develop a methodology for monitoring progress towards the food waste reduction target.

National Food Waste Baseline - Final Assessment Report (PDF - 2.53 MB)
National Food Waste Baseline - Final Assessment Report (DOCX - 1.8 MB)

Title Status Organisation Budget Description
National Food Waste - Return on Investment Completed Ernst & Young $169,487 (GST exclusive) The objective of this project was to underpin implementation of the National Food Waste Strategy. The project sought to determine returns on investment for businesses, community organisations and all levels of government to reduce food waste. The results should encourage improved management and help target investment in food waste reduction activities.

Title Status Organisation Budget Description
National flying fox monitoring Completed CSIRO $95,333 (GST inclusive)

This project built reliable population estimates and supported responsive management of 2 nationally protected flying-fox species. The project provided key data for decision-making not just for flying-fox conservation and regulation but also to inform responses to public concerns about the impact of flying foxes on industry, amenity and public health.

Final reports and more information on the monitoring program is available on Monitoring flying-fox populations.

Title Status Organisation Budget Description
Dugong population and habitat survey, Shark Bay Marine Park Completed Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Western Australia $100,793 (GST inclusive)

This project included an aerial survey of dugong abundance and distribution in Shark Bay Marine Park to understand how dugong have responded to habitat changes as a result of large-scale loss of seagrass during the 2010/11 marine heatwave event. The Western Australian Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions maintains a time-series monitoring dataset of dugong in Shark Bay based on aerial surveys at 5-year intervals. This survey will add to this resource.

Modelling the spatial relationship between dugong (Dugong dugon) and their seagrass habitat in Shark Bay Marine Park before and after the marine heatwave of 2010/11 (PDF - 2.82 MB)

Title Status Organisation Budget Description
Framework for guiding assessment and management of light pollution impacts on marine turtles, seabirds and migratory shorebirds Completed Pendoley Environmental Pty Ltd $77,360 (GST inclusive)

Funded by the Western Australian Government and the Australian Government, including $30,000 NESP funding.

Through this project, researchers are developing a guidance document to identify the risks of artificial light to marine turtles, seabirds and migratory shorebirds, and provide appropriate mitigation of impacts to affected species from artificial light. The guidelines will identify species at highest risk from light pollution, susceptible habitats and best practice management options to ameliorate the impact of light pollution on these species. Light pollution was identified as a high-risk threat in the Recovery Plan for Marine Turtles in Australia (2017) and a key action identified in the recovery plan was the development of guidelines for the management of light pollution.

National light pollution guidelines for wildlife including marine turtles, seabirds and migratory shorebirds.

Approved in 2016-17

Title Status Organisation Budget Description
Research to enhance understanding of the management of urban flying fox colonies, with a trial of management solutions at Batemans Bay Completed University of Melbourne (through the Threatened Species Recovery Hub) $50,000 (GST exclusive)

The Threatened Species Recovery Hub brought together information from multiple sources to develop a comprehensive picture of how local social, political, and environmental factors interact to influence the response of the community to flying fox roost management actions currently being used by local councils to alleviate conflict.

Manager perspectives on strategies used at flying-fox camps

Title Status Organisation Budget Description
Researching the relationship between biodiversity and profitability in grazing enterprises Completed ANU Enterprise $190,000 (GST exclusive)

This project researched ways of creating competitive advantage from increasing biodiversity in agriculture and investigating the possibility of synergies between livestock production and conservation of significant ecological communities. Based on cases where commercial-scale farmers in Box Gum Grassy Woodland and derived native grassland ecosystems have, over the long term, used healthy ecosystems as the natural resource base that sustains their businesses and comparing these with more conventional farming systems.

Graziers with better profitability, biodiversity and wellbeing

Title Status Organisation Budget Description
Sustainable polymer technologies for controlling mercury pollution Completed Flinders University $80,000 (GST exclusive)

The objective of this project was to identify and field-test polymers that capture mercury pollution from both liquids and solids. Mercury is highly toxic and cost-effective methods are needed for its removal from air, water and soil. Because the polymers are prepared entirely from industrial by-products and renewable materials, they should be sustainable and cost-effective. The project identified under what conditions these polymers are useful, so that they can be deployed in a variety of environmental remediation efforts. In addition to the polymers proposed efficacy in remediating mercury, it was also found to have properties for use in remediating oil spills and PFAS (used in firefighting agents).

The final report for this project outlines the methodology and provides a comprehensive account of the findings, including the efficacy of these polymers for remediation of other harmful substances in the environment.

Sustainable polymer technologies for controlling mercury pollution - Final report (PDF - 6.86 MB)

Title Status Organisation Budget Description
A national review and proposed action plan for Myrtle Rust Completed Plant Biosecurity CRC $52,255 (GST exclusive)

This project addressed the environmental threat posed by the exotic and aggressive fungal plant pathogen Myrtle Rust (Puccinia psidii, known overseas as Eucalyptus Rust). It delivered a comprehensive review of the myrtle rust threat in Australia and a draft action plan. The review focused on the threat to wild biodiversity and included a review of the known and potential impacts on production systems, genetic resources, social amenity, and cultural values. The findings of the review informed the development of a draft action plan, which provides a framework for a coordinated national approach to myrtle rust research and on-ground action.

Myrtle Rust reviewed

Myrtle Rust in Australia: A draft action plan

Title Status Organisation Budget Description
Climate change and bushfire research initiative - Tasmania Completed University of Tasmania (Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre) $100,000 (GST exclusive)

This project led to the development of high-priority tools and research products to enable protection of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area from adverse impacts of wildfire.

Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area climate change and bushfire research initiative

Title Status Organisation Budget Description
Spatial distribution of marine wildlife in Bremer Bay (Western Australia) region Completed University of Tasmania (through the Marine Biodiversity Hub) $100,000 (GST exclusive)

This project surveyed marine life across the Bremer region, both inside and adjacent to the Bremer Commonwealth Marine Reserve. Knowledge gained will support Australian Government decision-making to protect the environment and biodiversity and allow for sustainable marine use, and prioritise future research.

Surveying marine life in the canyons off Bremer Bay

Approved in 2015-16

Title Status Organisation Budget Description
Australian Bird Index Phase 2 - Developing waterbird indices for national reporting Ongoing BirdLife Australia Ltd $200,000 (GST exclusive)

This project was a collaboration between BirdLife Australia and key waterbird and shorebird researchers, data custodians and conservation groups to aggregate structured datasets, refine methodologies developed for the terrestrial bird indices, and produce a set of new national and regional indices for waterbirds and shorebirds. The outcomes will inform management of freshwater and coastal habitats, engage communities living in and near these habitats in questions of biodiversity and habitat protection, and inform and stimulate lines of enquiry into specific taxa.

Australian Bird Index Phase 2 – Developing waterbird indices for national reporting (PDF - 1.96 MB)

Title Status Organisation Budget Description
Biological control of Wandering Trad (Tradescantia fluminensis Vell.) Phase 2 Completed CSIRO $200,000 (GST exclusive)

The project progressed the Australian-focused risk assessment of each of 2 selected candidate agents - the Tradescantia leaf beetle Neolema ogloblini and the leaf-smut pathogen Kordyana species, which are potential biological control agents for the invasive weed Tradescantia fluminensis (Wandering Trad). The 2 biological control agents have the potential to greatly reduce the impact of the weed in invaded areas in Victoria and elsewhere.

More information on this research is available from the CSIRO

Title Status Organisation Budget Description
Assessing the effectiveness of waste management in reducing the levels of plastics entering Australia’s marine environment Completed University of Tasmania (through the NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub) $60,000 (GST exclusive)

The Marine Biodiversity Hub, in partnership with the Tropical Water Quality Hub, delivered this project to analyse existing coastal waste management policies implemented by local councils, with a focus on marine plastics. The project also evaluated the effectiveness of management policies in reducing the loss of waste into the ocean, including coastal environments. The project helped to improve collaboration between the states and territories and supported increased knowledge on coastal waste management practices. This improved knowledge can be used to underpin and develop practical, cost-effective waste policies for coastal councils at regional and state levels.

The project report provides a comprehensive account of the methodology undertaken through this project, and a set of findings and recommendations to help address the issue of plastics entering the marine environment.

Assessing the effectiveness of waste management in reducing the levels of plastics entering Australia's marine environment

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Last updated: 08 March 2022

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