Natural resources and ecosystems

Introduction

The sustainable management of our natural resources is vital for ensuring human wellbeing, now and in the future.

Any changes we make to land, water and vegetation through human production and consumption has an affect on the ecosystems they belong to. Yet our wellbeing is critically dependent on the goods and services provided by these ecosystems.

The sustainable management of natural resources requires an innovative approach to economics and policy design, based on robust bio-physical science.

The Institute's expertise lies in designing practical tools and approaches that link theories on governance and institutional arrangements with on-the-ground investment decisions and interventions.

Our natural resources and ecosystems team brings together environmental science, social and physical geography, ecological economics, engineering, and facilitation skills to provide a trans-disciplinary approach to natural resource and ecosystem management.

ISF can help regional NRM bodies, local governments, regional and indigenous communities, environmental groups, industry, and state, territory and Commonwealth agencies with the following:

- Inventories of natural assets and natural values
- Participatory decision-making
- Spatial and interactive tools for decision support
- Integrated economic and bio-physical modelling
- Policy, guidelines and implementation strategies
- Capacity building and public awareness raising programs
- Climate change adaptation
- Monitoring and evaluation

Projects

Harvesting in state forests supplying water to Melbourne - Sustainability Assessment Methodology: Peer Review Panel
Department of Sustainability and Environment (Vic)
Professor Stuart White and Dr Roel Plant have been providing expert advice to the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) to assist with the evaluation of a proposed sustainability methodology for the harvesting of water from State forests in Victoria. Stuart was the nominated Peer Review Panel member, Roel was Stuart's delegate.

Ecosystem Services and NRM Practice: Where the Rubber Hits the Road
Land and Water Australia
Natural ecosystems and biodiversity provide many services that benefit humans. These include the production of food and water, the decomposition of wastes, the regulation of climate and disease, and support for nutrient cycles and crop pollination. As increasing resource demands are imposed on increasingly fragile ecosystems, the services they provide can no longer be seen as free, invulnerable and infinitely available. Recognising Ecosystem Services (ES) has the potential to change the way natural resources are managed by informing decision makers of key trade-offs as well as the true costs and benefits involved. Land & Water Australia (LWA) has commissioned ISF to investigate how Australian Natural Resource Managers have used the Ecosystem Services concept in practice. The thinking behind the ES concept is all about reconnecting economic systems with their ecological roots. The concept emerged in the United States fifteen years ago and was picked up in Australia in the late 1990s, when the CSIRO embarked on Australia’s first national ES project. Yet, practical applications in Australian Natural Resource Management (NRM) have been slow to emerge. With the ES concept currently regaining momentum in Europe and the United States, ISF has identified an opportunity revisit the ES concept and investigate its uptake among Australian NRM practitioners, with funding kindly provided by Land & Water Australia. A recent review of the academic literature on ES in the context of Australian ecosystems, biodiversity and NRM undertaken by ISF suggests a sharp increase over the past four years in the number of articles that address the ES concept. However, few articles actually go beyond using the term as a sales piece, and those which do mostly focus on economic valuation of specific, or bundled, services without much consideration for the practical challenges faced by NRM practitioners. Although robust ES science is a critical factor in successfully mainstreaming the ES concept, an understanding of practitioners’ needs and experiences so far is equally important. This project, led by ISF’s Dr Roel Plant, was undertaken in three stages. First, an Australia-wide non-academic literature review was conducted. The second stage consisted of semi-structured face to face interviews with seven Catchment Management Authorities (CMAs) in New South Wales and Victoria. The project considered three catchment clusters in more detail, based on their degree of exposure to the ES concept so far. Results were presented at an Ecosystem Services workshop, held in Canberra on March 13th, 2009, organised by Land & Water Australia. Results shared in this meeting showed that thinking about natural resources as providing economic value has broadly found its way into NRM practice. However, some CMAs regard the ES concept to be of some use but out-of-date, others would like to engage more with ES thinking but lack the incentives and tools to do so.

Plant, R.A. 2009, 'Ecosystem services and NRM practice: where the rubber hits the road', Land & Water Australia Ecosystem Services Workshop, March 2009. View/Download paper (PDF 824.56KB)

Visit LWA's website (opens an external site) to access other resources from this ISF project.

THINKK Kangaroo Think Tank
THINKK is an innovative think tank that has been established to undertake independent research on kangaroos in Australia. It has been established by the University of Technology, Sydney and is based at the Institute for Sustainable Futures. The think tank is supported by a generous donation from the Sherman Foundation. THINKK aims to integrate science and policy, and assess the key processes affecting law and policy relating to kangaroos. The mission of THINKK is to foster understanding amongst Australians about kangaroos in a sustainable landscape, through critically reviewing current kangaroo management practices and exploring non-lethal management methods that are consistent with ecology, animal welfare, human health and ethics. The think tank is governed by a Research Advisory Committee comprising macropod experts, Dr Dror Ben-Ami and Dr Daniel Ramp, ISF sustainability expert, Professor Stuart White and ISF animal and environmental law expert Keely Boom. ISF sustainability expert Louise Boronyak is THINKK’s project manager. Expert advisors, macropod expert Dr David Croft and pioneering animal welfare expert Christine Townend, inform and refine THINKK’s research priorities and content. The key outcomes from this research are: 1) to conduct research and write papers for the web site and peer reviewed journals, 2) the creation of the THINKK web site to disseminate information, research and publications, 3) engage with stakeholders through networking, collaboration, workshops and other events, and 4) develop a fundraising strategy and actively engage in fundraising to sustain the Think Tank and its research. This ground breaking think tank brings a number of key stakeholders together to discuss the big picture of a sustainable future for kangaroos.

Publications

2012

In press

Plant, R.A., Walker, J.R., Rayburg, S., Gothe, J. & Leung, T. 2012, 'The wild life of pesticides: Urban agriculture, institutional responsibility, and the future of biodiversity in Sydney's Hawkesbury-Nepean River', Australian Geographer, Routledge, Australia.
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2011

Project reports

McInnes, R., de Groot, J., Plant, R.A., Chong, J. & Olszak, C. 2011, 'Managing catchments as business assets: An economic framework for evaluating control measures for source water protect (Research Report No. 83)', [prepared for Water Quality Research Australia (WQRA)], Water Quality Research Australia (WQRA), Sydney, Australia, pp. 1-69.
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Conference papers

Plant, R.A. & Ryan, P. 2011, 'Ecosystem services and valuation in catchment management and NRM', AWA Catchment Management Conference, Wangaratta, Victoria, August 2011.
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Plant, R.A. & Ryan, P. 2011, 'Ecosystem services as a practical concept for natural resource management: some lessons from Australia', Resilience 2011 - Resilience, Innovation and Sustainability: Navigating the Complexities of Global Change, Arizona State University, Texas, USA, March 2011 in Session, Theme 3, Panel 2 - Do ecosystem services provide a common language to facilitate participation in water management?, ed van der Meulen, S. and Brils, J., Arizona State University, Texas, USA, Texas, USA, pp. 1-9.
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Plant, R.A., Walker, J.R., Rayburg, S., Gothe, J., Leung, T.M., Phyu, Y. & Lim, R.P. 2011, 'The 'Social Life of Pesticides': How organised irresponsibility in the Greater Sydney Basin threatens the biodiversity of the Hawkesbury-Nepean River', Institute of Australian Geographers (IAG) Conference Wollongong 2011, Wollongong, NSW, July 2011.
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Prior, J., Lederwasch, A. & Plant, R.A. 2011, 'From liability to value: Analysis of land remediation decision-making processes in two Australian cities', Fifth State of Australian Cities National Conference 2011, Melbourne, November 2011 in Proceedings of the Fifth State of Australian Cities National Conference 2011, ed Whitzman, C. and Fincher, R., [prepared for As an author, I agree that a digital copy of this output may be placed in UTSiResearch, UTS' institutional repository.], Australian Cities and Regions Network (ACRN), Melbourne, pp. 1-12.
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Prior, T.D. & Eriksen, C. 2011, 'Stripping experience bare. Can experience be used to encourage bushfire preparation?', Institute of Australian Geographers Conference Wollongong 2011: 'Geography on the Edge', University of Wollongong, Australia, July 2011, Institute of Australian Geographers, NSW, Australia.
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Prior, T.D. 2011, 'Talking at or talking with community? Improving bushfire risk communication by engagement', Nature Conservation Council of NSW's 'Bushfire in the Landscape: Different Values, a Shared Vision', NSW Teacher's Federation Centre, Sydney, June 2011 in Bushfire in the Landscape: Different Values, a Shared Vision.

Taylor, C. & Plant, R.A. 2011, 'Recognising the broader public benefits of aquatic systems in water planning', 14th International Riversymposium, Brisbane, Australia, September 2011.
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Journal articles

Boom, K. & Lederwasch, A. 2011, 'Human rights or climate wrongs: is Tuvalu the canary in the coal mine?', The Conversation, vol. 18 October, no. 2.03pm.
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Croft, D.B. & Boom, K. 2011, 'It's raining kangaroos: the ups and downs of kangaroo management', The Conversation, vol. 2011, no. 14th Nov 6.21am, pp. 1-1.
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Eriksen, C. & Prior, T.D. 2011, 'The art of learning: wildfire, amenity migration and local environmental knowledge', International Journal of Wildland Fire, [prepared for As an author, I agree that a digital copy of this output may be placed in UTSiResearch, UTS' institutional repository.], vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 612-624.
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Other

Herriman, J. 2011, 'Coastal Zone Artworks', Sea Stories, Schulke, C.R. and Copeland, K.R. (Blue Ocean Institute), Chicago, USA, pp. 1-1.
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2010

Project reports

Cordell, D.J. 2010, 'The story of Phosphorus: sustainability implications of global phosphorus scarcity for food security (Doctoral thesis)', [prepared for Doctoral thesis - a collaborative PhD between the Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), Australia and Department of Water and Environmental Studies, Linkoping University, Sweden], Linkoping University Press, Linkoping, Sweden, pp. 1-220.
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Mitchell, C.A., Fam, D.M. & Cordell, D.J. 2010, 'Effectively managing the transition towards restorative futures in the sewage industry: a phosphorus case study p.84-97 in 'Water Sustainability and International Innovation: The Baltimore Charter - A Transformation in Managing Water'', [prepared for WERF], Water Environment Research Foundation, Vermont, USA, pp. 83-96.
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Plant, R.A., Chong, J., Prior, J. & Boydell, S. 2010, 'Value-based land remediation: Improved decision-making for contaminated land. Discussion Paper', [prepared for CRC-CARE], Institute for Sustainable Futures, UTS, Sydney, Australia.

Conference papers

Prior, T.D., Giurco, D., Mudd, G.M., Mason, L. & Behrisch, J.C. 2010, 'Resource depletion, peak minerals and the implications for sustainable resource management', ISEE Conference 2010: Advancing Sustainability in a Time of Crisis, Oldenburg/Bremen, Germany, August 2010 in International Society for Ecological Economics (ISEE) 11th Biennial Conference, ed Siebenhuner, B., International Society for Ecological Economics (ISEE), Germany, pp. 1-20.
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2009

Conference papers

Giurco, D., Prior, J. & Boydell, S. 2009, 'Future Latrobe Valley scenarios for a carbon-constrained world: industrial ecology, environmental impacts and property rights', Solutions for a Sustainable Planet, Melboune, Australia, November 2009 in SSEE 2009 International Conference Website, ed Nair, J., Mudd, G. and Collins, D., [prepared for As an author, I agree that a digital copy of this output may be placed in UTSiResearch, UTS' institutional repository.], Society for Sustainability and Environmental Engineering (SSEE), Melbourne, Australia, pp. 1-13.
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Plant, R.A. 2009, 'Ecosystem services and NRM practice: where the rubber hits the road', Land & Water Australia Ecosystem Services Workshop, Canberra, Australia, March 2009.
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Prior, J., Partridge, E.Y. & Plant, R.A. 2009, 'Community perceptions of contaminated land and associated remediation processes', 'Cleanup 09': 3rd International Contaminated Site Remediation Conference, Adelaide, Australia, September 2009 in 3rd International Contaminated Site Remediation Conference: Program and Proceedings, ed CRC for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment, Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment, Adelaide, Australia, pp. 62-63.
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Journal articles

Cordell, D.J., Drangert, J. & White, S. 2009, 'The Story of Phosphorus: Global food security and food for thought', Global Environmental Change, [prepared for As an author, I agree that a digital copy of this output may be placed in UTSiResearch, UTS' institutional repository.], vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 292-305.
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2008

Journal articles

Tomkins, K., Humphreys, G.S., Gero, A., Shakesby, R.A., Doerr, S.H., Wallbrink, P.J. & Blake, W.H. 2008, 'Postwildfire hydrological response in an El Nino Southern Oscillation dominated environment', Journal of Geophysical Research - Earth Surface, [prepared for As an author, I agree that a digital copy of this output may be placed in UTSiResearch, UTS' institutional repository.], vol. 113, no. F2, pp. 1-17.
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2006

Journal articles

Gero, A. & Pitman, A.J. 2006, 'The impact of land cover change on a simulated storm event in the Sydney Basin', Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, [prepared for As an author, I agree that a digital copy of this output may be placed in UTSiResearch, UTS' institutional repository.], vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 283-300.
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Gero, A., Pitman, A.J., Narisma, G.T., Jacobson, C. & Pielke, R.A. 2006, 'The impact of land cover change on storms in the Sydney Basin, Australia', Global and Planetary Change, [prepared for As an author, I agree that a digital copy of this output may be placed in UTSiResearch, UTS' institutional repository.], vol. 54, no. 1-2, pp. 57-78.
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2005

Project reports

Chong, J. 2005, 'Valuing the role of aquatic resources in livelihoods: Economic aspects of community wetland management in Stoeng Treng Ramsar Site, Cambodia', IUCN - The World Conservation Union, Ecosystems and Livelihoods Group Asia, Colombo.
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Plant, R.A. & Freudenberger, D. 2005, 'Changes in global agriculture: A framework for diagnosing ecosystem effects and identifying response options', [prepared for WWF-Macroeconomics Program Office, Washington, DC USA], Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Canberra, pp. 1-19.
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Conference papers

Ladson, A. & Chong, J. 2005, 'Unseasonal flooding of the Barmah-Millewa forest', Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, Conference on the Barmah Forest, Melbourne, June 2005.
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2004

Project reports

Harle, K., Plant, R.A., Turner, G., Fordham, B., Hennessy, K., Howden, M. & Jones, R. 2004, 'SEI Project "Costs and Benefits of Climate Change": Outcomes of Workshop II: Assessment of the tools and methods for linking climate change issues and socio-economic outcomes in the Australian context', Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Canberra, pp. 1-6.

2003

Project reports

Abel, N., Cork, S., Gorddard, R., Langridge, J., Langston, A., Plant, R.A., Proctor, W., Ryan, P., Shelton, D., Walker, B. & Yiaeloglou, M. 2003, 'Natural Values: Exploring options for enhancing ecosystem services in the Goulburn Broken catchment', [prepared for Myer Foundation], Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Canberra, Australia, pp. 97-106.
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Chong, J. 2003, 'Unseasonal Surplus Flooding in the Barmah-Millewa Forest, Technical Report 03/02', CRC for Catchment Hydrology, Melbourne.
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Journal articles

Chong, J. & Ladson, A. 2003, 'Management and analysis of unseasonal surplus flows in the Barmah-Millewa forest, Australia.', River Research and Applications, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 161-180.
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2000

Journal articles

Bulte, E., Bouman, B., Plant, R.A., Nieuwenhuyse, A. & Jansen, H. 2000, 'The economics of soil nutrient stocks and cattle ranching in the tropics: optimal pasture degradation in humid Costa Rica', European Review of Agricultural Economic, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 207-226.

McNevin, D., Harrison, M., King, A., David, K. & Mitchell, C.A. 2000, 'Towards an integrated performance model for subsurface flow constructed wetlands', Journal Of Environmental Science And Health Part A-toxic/hazardous Substances & Environmental Engineering, vol. 35, no. 8, pp. 1415-1430.

Plant, R.A. 2000, 'Regional analysis of soil-atmosphere nitrous oxide emissions in the Northern Atlantic Zone of Costa Rica', Global Change Biology, vol. 6, no. 6.

1999

Journal articles

Bouman, B. & Plant, R.A. 1999, 'Quantifying economic and biophysical sustainability trade-offs in tropical pastures', Ecological Modelling, vol. 120, no. 1, pp. 31-46.
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Plant, R.A. & Bouman, B. 1999, 'Modeling nitrogen oxide emissions from current and alternative pastures in Costa Rica', Journal of Environmental Quality, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 866-872.
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Simi, A.L., Mitchell, C.A. 1999, 'Design and hydraulic performance of a constructed wetland treating oil refinery wastewater', Water Science And Technology, vol. 40, no. 3, pp. 301-308.
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