Land & Water Australia Legacy Conference

Knowledge for Managing Australian Landscapes, Shine Dome, Canberra 18-19 May 2010

This conference explored the knowledge that Australia needs to better manage its natural resources in an increasingly challenging policy, social and biophysical context.

It did so through the lens of the research portfolio of Land & Water Australia. Leading Australian researchers and NRM practitioners were asked to distil the lessons from the 1800 or so projects/programs funded by LWRRDC/LWA over the last 20 years.

The conference considered the specific knowledge content and remaining gaps in four broad themes as outlined below, and also how best to procure, coordinate and manage the associated research activities and outputs.

Triple Helix Consulting, in conjunction with the Australian River Restoration Centre, convened, organised and under-wrote this conference.

The Australian Academy of Science generously provided its magnificent Shine Dome at no cost.

The conference dinner on 18 May at University House at the Australian National University was addressed by the Hon John Kerin AM, former Minister for Primary Industries and Energy.

Download » conference program

Knowledge: reflections on funding and managing applied research
Topic	Speaker	Audio	Power Point  (with audio)
Design Principles for intelligent research investment	Andrew Campbell
Evaluating an applied research portfolio	Peter Chudleigh et al
National Land and Water Resources Audit	Blair Wood et al
Knowledge for regional NRM	Jane Chrystal et al
Learnings from a time of reflection	Richard Stirzaker
The five Ps: managing knowledge for adoption	Siwan Lovett
Land & Water Australia’s Legacy	Rohan Boehm
People, institutions and policy
Topic	Speaker	Audio	Power Point (with audio)
Social and institutional research	Steve Dovers & Richard Price
Indigenous NRM and knowledge	Rosemary Hill
The changing demography of rural Australia	Neil Barr
Motivating People	Carl Binning
Rural sustainability, laws and institutions	Paul Martin
Ecosystem Services and Futures thinking	Steve Cork
Sustaining primary industries
Topic	Speaker	Audio	Power Point (with audio)
Producer-driven R&D - Sustainable Grazing Systems case study	Tom Dunbabin et al
Managing Climate Variability	Ian McClelland
Cotton Best Management Practices	Mike Logan
National Irrigation Research	Steve Mills & Brett Tucker
National Climate Change Strategy for Primary Industries	Mark Howden
Healthy Soils for Sustainable Farms	Pauline Mele
Redesigning Agriculture for Australian Landscapes	John Williams
Towards a biofuel economy	Barney Foran
Australian landscapes and ecosystems
Topic	Speaker	Audio	Power Point (with audio)
National Dryland Salinity Program: a knowledge partnership	Kevin Goss et al
Desert and northern Australia	Mark Stafford Smith et al
Tropical Rivers and Coastal Knowledge (TRaCK)	Michael Douglas et al
Riparian Lands	Ian Rutherfurd et al
Groundwater-dependent ecosystems and groundwater/surface water interaction	Rick Evans
Assessing River Health:AusRivas	Richard Norris
Eutrophication and Environmental Water	Richard Davis
Remnant Vegetation ecology and management principles	David Lindenmayer
Landscape ecology concepts and management principles	Sue McIntyre et al
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals	Anu Kumar
Conference questions and wrap ups
Topic	Speaker	Audio	Power Point (with audio)
Day 1 wrap up	Jason Alexandra
People session wrap up	Dave Pannell
Audience question time
Conference wrap up	Ted Lefroy
Conference close	Siwan Lovett

Over the twenty years 1990-2009, the people at Land & Water Australia learned and contributed a great deal in terms of science and policy understanding about managing Australian landscapes. They also learned a great deal about the business of investing in collaborative applied research, development and extension.

These insights are reflected in the following publications:

• The Getting of Knowledge: a guide to funding and managing applied research
• The Australian NRM Knowledge System: an analysis of how well current arrangements generate and organise the knowledge needed for Australia to manage its natural resource more wisely
• Knowledge for Managing Australian Landscapes (PDF): a comprehensive analysis of the knowledge needed for sustainable natural resource management in Australia and areas for improvement.