Malcolm Lindsay, Environs Kimberley
E: malcolm@environskimberley.org.au
What are your research interests as they relate to northern Australia?
I have been working in the Kimberley for around 10 years on expanding our knowledge and conservation of important Kimberley species, ecosystems and associated culture through projects including conservation management of endangered monsoon vine thickets, developing weed management methods and priorities, mapping of data poor threatened ecosystems and species, conservation action planning and establishing regional threatened species working groups to facilitate better knowledge sharing. Throughout these projects I have developed an awareness and keen interest in how strategic conservation projects that are inclusive and collaborative with Aboriginal communities lead to better conservation and cultural outcomes, and the factors that contribute to this collaborative success.
What do you love about working in northern Australia?
Where do I start. In the Kimberley, there is the strong cultural connection in the Aboriginal communities, the ability to work with an expert network of Kimberley Rangers who grow in capability every year, the chance to work on projects that combine science and cultural knowledge, the shear amount of continuous healthy habitat, its remoteness, the number of new species and occurrences that are continually being described, the importance of the region as one of the last refuges for many threatened species, the dramatic shift in ecology between the seasons, the close working relationships between regional environmental management organisations, and then there is the shear dramatic diversity in the Kimberley from its deserts to its rainforests, its plains to its rocky ranges, its wetlands to its waterfalls, its mudflats to its archipelagos. What a privilege to call this region my home, office and research lab.
Current project
Completed project
