Final Report

A guide to designing and implementing performance reporting to increase the confidence of conservation investors

The Investment in Conservation and Natural Resource Management Project (or Increment) project was a research and development project managed by Bush Heritage Australia (BHA). Funding for the project was provided by the Native Vegetation Program at Land & Water Australia (LWA) and the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA).

Assessing biodiversity outcomes from waterpoint interventions in the patchy, gibber-gilgai arid rangelands

“Domestic and feral herbivores need daily access to water during summer, and every few days during winter. The risk to biodiversity and ecosystem function depends on the type of herbivore activity, its intensity, and how long an area is exposed to grazing and seasonal conditions (rainfall). We explore whether waterpoint manipulation is a useful management tool for achieving biodiversity and ecosystem outcomes in the arid grazing lands of remote Australia. We used the (more)...

Biodiversity values and functional ecology of regrowth vegetation in modified landscapes

“At a continental scale, remnant vegetation in the Australian rangelands can be described as intact, except towards the east where intensive land clearing has occurred prior to cessation of broadscale land clearing at the end of 2006. However, ongoing clearing of native vegetation for the purposes of harvesting fodder is a legitimate management approach for large areas of south-west Queensland, and is regulated under the Vegetation Management Act 1999. This is (more)...

Addressing Indigenous Cultural Values in Water Allocation Planning

Water allocation processes across tropical Australia are struggling with the question of how to acknowledge and protect Aboriginal values and interests in water-dependent ecosystems. Indigenous interests in environmental flows research and water resource policy have tended to be neglected, consequently Aboriginal people have rarely participated equitably in water management decision-making. This project was conceived as a pilot with the intention of engaging Aboriginal traditional owners and resource (more)...

Pathways to Good Practice in Regional NRM Governance - Final Report 2

Pathways to Good Practice in Regional NRM Governance - Final Report 1

Developing institutional arrangements of Indigenous participation in the National Water Initiative

This Final Milestone Report and attached fact sheets have been prepared by the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance (NAILSMA) for endorsement by Land & Water Australia (LWA).

Kantri is for Laif – Cultural Museum or National Asset

The project devised and documented ‘a strategy for the conservation and application of Indigenous Knowledge (IK) across northern Australia.’ The strategy is based on the findings that there had been limited consultation with interested Indigenous groups; undervaluing of IK contributions to land and sea management; a lack of coordinated effort to provide long term and appropriate investment in IK, a rapid loss of language (more)...

Integrated Natural and Cultural Resource Management for Pastoral Properties in the East Kimberley Project: Learnings of the Project

This report provides guidance on the options for sustainable development of Indigenous-held properties that acknowledge cultural traditions and aspirations in addition to addressing conventional natural resource management practices. The report also documents the challenges encountered in the project itself and what worked. Issues that were addressed included collaborative research and multidisciplinary team work; project work; confidentiality of cultural information; redefinition of project (more)...

Signposts for Australian Agriculture – Review of social components of the framework

Signposts for Australian Agriculture is a project coordinated by the National Land and Water Resources Audit, with initial funding from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Recognising the importance of this initiative, the Bureau of Rural Sciences has allocated its own funding to support Signposts. The 2005-06 funding includes provision to carry out a review of the social components of the Signposts for Australian Agriculture Framework. This review follows on from a review carried out (more)...