Across 15 years, 3 major Commonwealth funding programs – the National Environmental Science Program, the National Environmental Research Program and the Commonwealth Environment Research Facilities – supported environmental research in northern Australia. The long-term investment in northern Australia enabled researchers to focus on a wide range of research-user needs including water planning, Indigenous land and sea management, agricultural development, fire, threatened species, climate change, and invasive plants and animals. This investment elevated the research capacity of institutions across northern Australia. It has importantly broadened the pool of expertise and enhanced the capability of researchers to work in remote locations and cross-cultural contexts to address key environmental challenges.
The hub addressed key research questions to come up with practical, on-ground solutions to some of the north’s most complex environmental challenges. Throughout the 3 hubs, the approach to integrating research users progressed and a transdisciplinary research approach became the hallmark of the Northern Australia Environmental Resources Hub projects. Integrating key research users – policy-makers and land managers including Traditional Owners and ranger groups – into the co-design of research projects has led to rapid uptake of research outcomes into land management practices and decision-making. This user-driven approach to research that has proven so successful in the Northern Hub will be continuing and expanding through the the Resilient Landscapes Hub.
Want to know more about the Resilient Landscapes Hub's activities and our research into practical solutions to environmental problems? Stay informed about activities, research, publications, events and more through the Hub newsletter.
