Climate change can alter the distribution of species and ecosystems, but the exact variations are difficult to predict. Ignoring uncertainty can easily lead to conservation plans failing in the long-term, yet uncertainty is still not commonly incorporated in planning.
Read more: Reducing risk in conservation reserves using economic theory
Twice a year the Fenner School of Environment and Society (FSES) invites outstanding mid-career scholars working in the environment space to deliver a guest lecture and participate in a panel discussion.
In August, that invited scholar was CEED’s Director, Professor Kerrie Wilson, who used the occasion to discuss her lab’s work on structured decision making and how to develop smart decisions for the environment.
In her talk, Kerrie described examples of best practice restoration planning and prioritization approaches involving formal processes of objective setting involving stakeholder groups with varying values and priorities.
Following the presentation, Kerrie fielded questions from an expert panel consisting of Dr Rosie Cooney (IUCN, specialises in illegal trade of wildlife), Associate Professor Phil Gibbons (FSES, working on native vegetation laws and biodiversity offsets policy), and Dr Virginia Marshall (FSES, Inaugural Indigenous Postdoctoral Fellow working on cultural river flows and Indigenous law).
The panel answered a broad range of questions from the audience about how policy, management and research can move closer to incorporating structured decision making into standard practice.
Read more: Offsetting impacts from palm oil a costly opportunity
Scientists publishing locations of rare species have been blamed for helping poachers drive them to extinction, such as the local extinction of the Chinese cave gecko.
But an international group of scientists lead by CEED researcher Dr Ayesha Tulloch believes that data publishing is important to help many species.
Read more: Should you share location data of threatened species?
Biodiversity is in crisis and there is an urgent need to raise public awareness of the issues, but is the way that nature is talked about by scientists and policymakers actually ‘disengaging’ the public?
Read more: A critique of ecosystem services as a communication strategy
Read more: How bandicoot digging grows bigger seedlings
CEED Chief Investigator David Pannell's guide to influencing environmental policy.
Zealandia conservation and research manager Danielle Shanahan explains the multiple values of the sanctuary and reflects on the importance of her time with CEED in navigating the complex challenges of a 225-hectare conservation park.
Many marine protected areas are often unnecessarily expensive and located in the wrong places, an international study has shown.
The University of Queensland was part of research which found protected areas missed many unique ecosystems, and have a greater impact on fisheries than necessary.
A collaboration with the University of Hamburg, Wildlife Conservation Society and The Nature Conservancy assessed the efficiency of marine protected areas, which now cover 16 per cent of national waters around the world.
Read more: Marine protected areas often expensive and misplaced
To combat overexploitation in artisanal fisheries, CEED researchers used spatial planning to design an enforcement strategy that considers multiple factors including climate variability, existing seasonal fishing closures, conservation targets, and enforcement costs.
Read more: More efficient enforcement of fisheries to protect estuarine biodiversity
Join CEED PhD students Carla Archibald and Rachel Friedman as they explore and share the most up-to-date thinking in conservation science and environmental problem-solving.
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