In line with the fifth strategic outcome of the Department of
the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, a significant
component of MTSRF-funded research aims to increase the
effectiveness of efforts to protect and conserve the Great Barrier
Reef and Wet Tropics World Heritage Areas, as well as supporting
the region's Indigenous heritage through building capacity and
resilience to change within Indigenous communities, especially in
the Torres Strait.
Growing community support for the Wet
Tropics World Heritage Area: The need to develop a
comprehensive understanding of the role that protected areas play
in the lives of communities is as important as developing a greater
understanding of the scientific aspects of protected areas.
Social science surveys funded by the MTSRF have shown that, among
other things, community support for the Wet Tropics World Heritage
Area has grown since 2002. Also of note is the increasing
support for the inclusion of Aboriginal Cultural Heritage in the
World Heritage listing. The full survey results were
published and are
available for download as part of the MTSRF Research Report
Series. Outputs from this research are being used by the
Wet Tropics Management Authority in partial fulfillment of its
annual reporting obligations to both state and federal governments,
and in public information materials. The Authority is
presently scoping the feasibility of presenting these results in a
formal report to the World Heritage Commission in 2010.
Science supporting the development of a
new industry for the Torres Strait: Scientific
research into natural sponge populations by many organisations
(including the MTSRF) has paved the way for approval of a proposed
commercial sponge aquaculture farm, which will provide the local
Indigenous community with income.
MTSRF-funded sponge research will continue to ensure that EPBC
assessment processes are informed and that sponge farming is
environmentally sustainable.
Interactive key to Australian Wet
Tropics rainforest plants: MTSRF funding has enabled
the entire vascular plant community found in Wet Tropics rainforest
habitats to be incorporated into a single taxonomic key, a unique
achievement for any rainforest region in the world. The beta
version of this invaluable tool for managers, scientists and
decision makers is already available to users of the Public
Reference Collection at the Australian
Tropical Herbarium, with the final two sections to be
operational by mid 2009.
Delivering for the North Queensland
tourism industry: The MTSRF is funding researchers
from James Cook University to produce ongoing industry monitoring
data of direct tourism use to both management agencies and tourism
operators, which the RRRC then provides in a synthesised form in
briefing notes to Australian and Queensland Government tourism
agencies. These regular outputs are publicly available online
and include the quarterly Tourism Barometers (for
both rainforest and reef tourism),
media releases and reports. The latest results from
ongoing projects are presented regularly to the industry by
researchers, RRRC staff and contractors through joint briefings
with Tourism Tropical North Queensland. Feedback received
from local businesses in the industry indicates that information is
being successfully delivered to thse important end users, that they
consider the research outputs to be credible, and that they are
considering how to use the information to increase the
sustainability of their industry.
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Impacts of the MTSRF
> Snapshots:
Improving organisational effectiveness
