Emerging priorities funding

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)

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.

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)

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.

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

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

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)

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

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

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

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)

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

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