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National Environmental Science Program
August 2023 update
Welcome to the August 2023 quarterly update from the National Environmental Science Program (NESP).
Scientists from the Sustainable Communities and Waste Hub (SCaW) joined DCCEEW staff this month in a take over of Questacon for National Science Week.
Hub leader Veena Sahajwalla and her team wowed the crowd with their captivating performance about microplastics, and the hub’s innovative approach to creating building products from waste materials.
An electric guitar made from the waste of ghost nets – discarded plastic fishing nets – was a favourite with both kids and parents alike. Victor Steffensen from Firesticks spoke about his upcoming work linking First Nations communities with Hub researchers to turn invasive plants and waste plastics from remote and regional locations into ceramic tiles for use in local buildings and construction.
The SCaW Hub’s work is just one example of how NESP science and innovation is helping to support positive environmental, social and economic outcomes. Read on to find out more about NESP’s role in helping to protect Australia’s environment.
Hub highlights
Sustainable Communities and Waste Hub
Circular economy opportunities for waste rubber
Large volumes of rubber tyres and conveyor belts are discarded each year, with relatively low recycling rates.
Waste rubber in landfill and stockpiles is both an environmental hazard and a lost valuable resource.
A recent report from the Sustainable Communities and Waste Hub explores circular economy opportunities from waste tyres and conveyor belts in Western Australia.
The report examines the life cycle of waste tyres and conveyor belts, the environmental, community and cultural impacts of those wastes, and makes a series of recommendations for increasing resource recovery from recycling these waste materials.
The report found that improper management of this rubber waste can have negative impacts on the associated environmentally and culturally sensitive regions. It also found that more work is required to develop new ways to extend the life of these materials through recycling.
As more funding and investment opportunities arise to meet resource recovery targets, new markets for the reuse of recovered materials need to be developed.
This can be achieved through the development of appropriate policy and economic levers, evidence-based decision-making, and relevant industry and community engagement to realise the economic potential for the regions where these wastes are predominantly generated.
Sustainable Communities and Waste Hub
Resilient Landscapes Hub
New Indigenous appointments boost representation and environmental research capacity
The Resilient Landscapes Hub is welcoming 4 new Indigenous staff members – Lenore Morris, Aidan Mitchell, Shandell Cummings and Oliver Tester.
Lenore, Aidan and Shandell join the hub as Research Associates through a collaborative initiative between CSIRO and the University of Western Australia (UWA). They will do higher degrees by research at UWA, contributing to the hub’s research priorities, and mentor Indigenous undergraduate students at UWA.
Lenore spoke passionately about her appointment, ‘Being part of the NESP Resilient Landscapes Hub is a great opportunity to further my knowledge in western science and traditional knowledges. There’s so much to learn from Australia’s Indigenous peoples so I’m keen to apply our knowledges to my research where I can. I’m also excited to join the growing cohort of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers in this space,’ she said.
Oliver, a proud Noongar man, recently joined the hub as Indigenous Research Facilitator to work alongside Professor Stephen van Leeuwen, the hub’s Senior Indigenous Facilitator. ‘Our ancestors have sustainably managed Country for thousands of years by applying Indigenous science. It’s really exciting to have new Indigenous researchers building on that legacy,’ Oliver said.
With these new positions, the hub has significantly increased Indigenous environmental research capacity. This represents a significant contribution to the growing network of Indigenous staff in the field of environmental research.
Marine and Coastal Hub
Understanding grazing impacts on Torres Strait seagrass meadows
Traditional Owners, Indigenous rangers and scientists have identified substantial declines in seagrass meadows at Mabuyag Island and Orman Reefs in the western Torres Strait. These were identified alongside an unusually high presence of dugongs and sea turtles in areas of the region.
To understand this link, scientists from James Cook University TropWATER, under the Marine and Coastal Hub, conducted experiments in the region with Indigenous rangers from Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA) and Traditional Owners from Mabuyag Island.
Using exclusion cages to prevent dugongs and turtles from feeding on small patches of seagrass meadow in the declining regions, scientists measured seagrass inside and outside the cages. The experiment showed the grazing pressure by turtles and dugongs was high, contributing to seagrass decline.
TropWATER seagrass ecologist, Dr Abbi Scott, said the increased grazing was potentially caused by a decline of deeper seagrass meadows in other areas in the Torres Strait, forcing a greater number of turtles and dugongs to search for food in the shallow intertidal meadows.
‘By understanding these dynamics, Traditional Owners can develop effective management strategies on sea Country to protect seagrass meadows and the valuable marine life they support,’ she said.
TSRA rangers are continuing to monitor exclusion cages to collect long term data on grazing, with the seagrass meadow beginning to show signs of recovery.
Find out more on the hub’s project page.
Climate Systems Hub
Australia's first national climate change adaptation conference since 2018
Last month leaders from low-lying islands spoke from experience at the Climate Adaptation 2023 conference, saying the 'sinking islands' narrative ignores the reality of resilience and lessons in adaptation.
'We are living resilience, it has become a normality for us,' NGO representative, climate justice advocate and University of Melbourne master's candidate Teresa Lifuka-Drecala told the conference of the experience at home in Tuvalu.
Held in Adelaide, the conference brought together leaders from low-lying islands, the National First People’s Platform on Climate Change, and people from industry, government and research.
The gathering was an opportunity to launch Australia’s first stocktake of adaptation actions, aiming to develop a better understanding of where Australia is at in adapting to climate change.
Adaptation Initiative lead Associate Professor Sarah Boulter said adaptation was 'a lot of learning by doing and learning from one another about what works best – or doesn’t work – (which) is why these conferences are so important'.
It is hoped the stocktake, now underway, will prompt more action on adaptation, she said.
Find out more about the climate adaptation stocktake.
Plenary presentations are available on the Climate Systems Hub website.
Keep up to date
Stay in touch and find out more about the interesting work happening across the Australian Government’s climate, water and environment portfolios: