DRAFT National Environmental Research Program
Biodiversity policy questions for research
National level
April 2010
The National Environmental Research Program (NERP) supports research
that has a strong public good focus and that can demonstrate a strong
public good outcome. The program focuses on biodiversity research,
particularly research the Australian Government needs to inform robust policy
and evidence-based decision making.
The Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (the
Department), in consultation with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
(GBRMPA), has prepared questions to be addressed by future NERP
research hubs.
These questions fit under the broad themes identified in the Australian
Government’s National Research Priorities which can be found at
http://www.innovation.gov.au/Section/AboutDIISR/FactSheets/Pages/National
ResearchPrioritiesFactSheet.aspx. They are also in line with a range of other
national biodiversity policy and research documents in place or being
finalised, including:
 National Biodiversity Strategy
(http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/publications/strategy/index.
html)
 National Adaptation Research Plans (NARPs)
(http://www.nccarf.edu.au/), and
 Australian Antarctic Science Strategic Plan
(http://www.aad.gov.au/default.asp?casid=33927).
Those applying to establish hubs or for funding for research proposals for the
Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait hub will use these questions to develop
their applications in the April 2010 funding round. Applicants for the Great
Barrier Reef and Torres Strait hub should also refer to the Great Barrier Reef
& Torres Strait Hub Research Policy Questions April 2010.
Broad objectives of the Department’s biodiversity policies
The broad objectives of the Department’s biodiversity policies are:

To conserve and protect Australia’s terrestrial, aquatic and marine
biodiversity and ecosystems through research, developing information,
supporting natural resource management, regulating matters of national
environmental significance and establishing and managing
Commonwealth protected areas.

To base our natural asset policy, planning and management on
landscapes, seascapes and ecosystem function.
Context for the biodiversity policy questions
To attain the objectives above, environmental policy needs to be evidencebased and adaptive to new learnings. A supporting research program is
required in key environmental policy areas. The Department and its portfolio
areas address the management of biodiversity through a range of policy and
program areas. These include:
 Seeking to support sustainable management of natural resources and
the environment, particularly through achievement of targets established
in the Caring for our Country business plan (research issues include
prioritising management actions and use of funds; adaptive
management; and market-based instruments, including stewardship
programs).
 Effective environmental regulation, especially in relation to matters of
national environmental significance listed under the Environment
Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act)
(research issues include strategic management of threatened species
and ecological communities, and strategic environmental assessments).
 Developing marine bioregional plans to guide ministerial and
government decision-making and to support the identification of marine
protected areas (research issues include identifying key ecological
features and important areas for listed species, and effective
management approaches for marine protected areas).
 Building and researching the national reserve system, managing
Commonwealth terrestrial and marine protected areas and effective offreserve and ex-situ management (research issues include identifying
where these important areas are, landscape connectivity, species
conservation thresholds, and linking reserves to off-reserve
conservation management).
 Recognising the traditional association of Indigenous people with
aspects of biodiversity conservation and working to ensure the
continued contribution of traditional knowledge.
 Seeking to support the sustainable management of the Indigenous
estate, including through Indigenous-specific land and sea management
programs such as the Working on Country Indigenous ranger program
and the Indigenous Protected Areas program.
 Adopting an integrated approach to the protection and management of
Australia’s natural assets across the portfolio (research issues include
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managing at the ecosystem level and a better understanding of the
combined influence of public and industry sector impacts on the
environment).
Progressing the biodiversity policy agenda, and raising the profile of the
economic, social and cultural importance of biodiversity (research
issues include improving environmental management through an
integrated understanding of economic, social, cultural and biological
knowledge).
Incorporating climate change effects and adaptation policy into
environmental management strategies.
Identifying places of heritage value to Australia through major strategic
assessments of the Kimberley and Cape York, and protecting these and
already recognised sites, such as the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area
and its associated rainforests and the Great Barrier Reef.
Protecting and promoting Australia’s cultural heritage.
Establishing an environmental information capability for the
development of national environmental accounts and outlooks to
improve targeting and evaluation of government spending.
The Biodiversity Vulnerability Assessment 2009 identifies that many of
Australia’s most valued and iconic natural areas, and the rich biodiversity they
support, are especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change (see
http://www.climatechange.gov.au/publications/biodiversity/biodiversityclimatechange.aspx). Climate change is a major threat in its own right, and
will exacerbate existing threats to biodiversity.
Case studies may be used to help answer the questions outlined in this
document. Subjects of interest to the Department include Australia’s northern
landscapes and ecosystems (e.g. the Kimberley region, Cape York Peninsula,
the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, the Great Barrier Reef and Torres
Strait).
Further information on the portfolio’s policy areas can be found at the
Department’s website at: http://www.environment.gov.au/
Development of detailed Research Plans
A number of environmental research organisations are currently working on
many of the themes outlined in the questions below. The Program will build on
this work to fill gaps and to develop synthesis and analysis products. In
collaboration with the Department, its portfolio agencies and other key
stakeholders, the successful grant applicants of each hub would design an
appropriate Research Plan, which builds on the guiding questions. Key policy
documents such as the National Biodiversity Strategy and the NARPs would
be expected to inform the preparation of Research Plans within each of the
new hubs. When it is released, the Australian Government’s response to the
Report of the Independent Review of the EPBC Act will also guide future
NERP research.
For further information on the development of Research Plans, see the NERP
guidelines.
Policy questions for research
Question 1. Values: understanding the major drivers for maintaining
biodiversity
Biodiversity and ecosystems need to be protected for their biological, social,
cultural andr economic values. Within the national landscape, we need to
determine more precisely what these values are, their relative importance and
which of them it is imperative be maintained. We can then make informed
decisions on which values we invest in using the resources that are available.
1. How we do we evaluate the biological (intrinsic1), economic and social
values of biodiversity to decide what ecosystems and functions to
conserve, and how to prioritise these for management and investment?
This includes considering how biodiversity values contribute to productive
land-use such as agriculture, and to other ecosystem services such as
maintaining water quality, as well as examining comparative methods for
identifying landscape investment values.
Considerations include:
1.1 Are all threatened species equally valuable in a genetic and
ecological context?
1.2 When is it too late to recover a species?
1.3 What is the fairest and most cost-effective mix of policy tools to
conserve recognised biodiversity values (e.g. land acquisition,
covenants, stewardship payments, regulation, education) at both
national and regional scales?
1.4 What are the best mechanisms for sharing the costs of management
between the various beneficiaries?
1.5 What are the carbon sequestration benefits associated with
management interventions designed primarily to improve the
biodiversity value of degraded native vegetation (e.g. fencing out
stock)?
1.6 How can the management of biodiversity values of the Indigenous
estate by Indigenous custodians be improved upon, and what
incentives/resources, information and support are needed to achieve
this?
1
Intrinsic values means those aspects of ecosystems and their constituent parts which have value in their
own right, including: (a) Their biological and genetic diversity; and (b) the essential characteristics that
determine an ecosystem's integrity, form, functioning, and resilience.
Question 2. Ecosystems: understanding ecosystem function/monitoring
ecosystem health
There are benefits from managing biodiversity values collectively through
whole ecosystems. Ecosystems, particularly in the marine biosphere, are
highly connected and interdependent, and in some circumstances resource
management will need to take place over large scales to be effective.
Understanding the links between ecosystems enables biodiversity
conservation to be handled at a larger scale again. Models and tools are
needed to predict the impact of management options, and to monitor the
success of actions. This includes verifying the effectiveness of an ecosystem
approach over other management methods.
2.1 How can we improve our capacity to understand, monitor and
evaluate ecosystem function/health, including by using predictive
models/tools, to ensure:
 key ecosystem functions can be understood and maintained
through effective management
 threats to values, such as biodiversity or important ecosystem
functions, can be detected
 trends can be monitored and tipping points/thresholds, that indicate
species, population or ecosystem collapse, can be predicted, and
 which management actions are effective and timely, can their
success be measured over time, and how can their
relevance/effectiveness be evaluated as the environment changes
(i.e. use of adaptive management systems)?
2.2 What are practical models for incorporating complex ecosystem
science into management, e.g. through managing key drivers such as
keystone species, core processes and human activities?
What are the minimum data needed to determine the health of an
ecosystem?
2.3 What are the advantages and disadvantages for biodiversity of an
ecosystem management approach? How can emerging genetic
technologies and analysis of past management practices assist our
understanding of ecosystems?
2.4 In environments such as marine areas, where comparatively little is
known about biodiversity and ecosystem processes, what can we do
to strengthen and validate the use of surrogates for identifying
biodiversity for protection?
Question 3. Threats: maintaining/building resilience for future changing
threats
Strategic management of increasing threats is fundamental to efficiently
conserving biodiversity and ecosystem function, particularly as climate
change comes into play. Better research is needed on how to build
landscapes that are resilient to current and future threats, and how to prioritise
managing threats with limited resources.
In marine areas, transboundary considerations are important. Australia's
marine estate is continuous with regional waters outside its jurisdiction, and
impacted on by them. Research is required that is regionally focussed to
better inform Australian managers of regional scale threats and processes
impacting on Australia's marine assets, as well as build capacity within the
greater region to effectively manage the marine environment as it impacts on
Australia's marine assets.
3. What adaptation strategies, including improvements to current
management and completely novel strategies, could be used to improve
the resilience of Australia’s environment—particularly in the face of climate
change and cumulative threats?
Considerations include:
3.1 How do we manage ecosystems and regions for ecological resilience:
how is resilience maintained, restored and monitored?
3.2 How do we best manage important ecological features, such as
climatic refugia, that could prevent decline in ecosystem function or
improve species management?
3.3 How can we assess the effectiveness of habitat connectivity as an
adaptation mechanism for future climatic changes?
3.4 How can the biodiversity value of protected areas be improved
through a system of establishing adjacent buffering areas?
3.5 What role will genetic adaptation play?
3.6 For island ecosystems vulnerable to invasive species, what low cost
quarantine arrangements can be used to reduce the risk of weed and
pest invasions?
3.7 How can we best manage those parts of the Commonwealth Marine
Area outside Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) to ensure values of
MPAs are not compromised by external threats?
3.8 In coastal areas, how can catchment and near-shore management be
improved to better protect coastal ecosystems? How can we
characterise and quantify threats to marine species posed by coastal
development?
3.9 How can the different threats to biodiversity be prioritised for
management and investment purposes, and how can cumulative
threats be assessed?
Question 4. Sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystems
The individual and cumulative ecological effects of the various uses of
Australia’s resources must continue to be carefully assessed and managed.
Management responses must adapt to changing environmental and market
conditions. Effective management outcomes depend on integrating economic,
social, cultural and environmental information and on making this information
easily accessible to government, industry and the public.
We need more comprehensive scientifically-based sources to inform the
increasing number of decisions related to sustainable use. This includes
managers having access to integrated assessments of accumulating effects
of human use.
4.1 How do productive land and marine uses impact on biodiversity
values and ecosystem function in different ecosystems or landscapes,
and how might this change with future climate variability?
4.2 As land and marine use intensifies, how can we improve approaches
to strategic environmental assessments of nationally important areas
and regions?
4.3 In fragmented coastal, urban and peri-urban areas where housing
development is being contemplated, how can the impacts on
biodiversity be minimised and the resilience of natural ecosystems be
maintained and improved?
4.4 How can Australia’s marine environment be best managed to
maximise ecosystem health, ecosystem resilience, and ecosystem
goods and services?
More specific questions could include:
 How is tourist visitation to highly biodiverse World Heritage areas, such
as the Wet Tropics and the Gondwana rainforests, best managed to
minimise impacts?
 What information, incentives and other support do land managers in the
intensive use agricultural regions need to allow them to improve their
management of biodiversity within the framework of a commercially
productive landscape?
 What contribution are land managers voluntarily making to biodiversity
conservation beyond that recognised through formal programs such as
covenants or stewardship payments? How can this contribution be
measured? How can it be recognised and encouraged?
 Does recreational fishing present specific threats to ecosystems in
Commonwealth waters? If so, in what circumstances and what
management responses are appropriate?
 Do marine protected areas increase fish stocks in adjacent areas
through a spill over effect? To what extent, and in what circumstances?
Question 5. Biodiversity markets
Off-reserve management of biodiversity is vitally important. Research in this
area will improve understanding of conservation incentives, such as the
stewardship programs, and develop offset actions related to the EPBC Act.
5.1 When building biodiversity markets, how are benefits to individuals,
the community, and ecosystems evaluated and quantified?
5.2 What are the comparative costs and benefits for different market
models, and how successful have they been in Australia to date?
5.3 How can biodiversity markets best operate at the larger scale, ie,
landscapes/bioregions?
5.4 How can a system of innovation, evaluation and improvement be best
established?
5.5 Given the limited data currently available about many elements of
biodiversity, what cost-effective mechanisms can be used to assign
market values to biodiversity, particularly in areas of urban
development pressure?
5.6 How can biodiversity markets integrate with markets for other
ecosystem services, such as water provision and carbon capture and
storage?