| 15/11/2005
- Research into North Queensland environmental issues
will receive a $40 million boost with the announcement
today of research priorities for the Marine and Tropical
Science Research Facility and a call for expressions of
interest for funding.
Australian Ministers for the Environment and Heritage,
Senator Ian Campbell, and Education, Science and Training,
Dr Brendan Nelson, said the Marine and Tropical Sciences
Research Facility (MTSRF) would help address the demand
for high quality research in North Queensland.
Located at located at James Cook University campuses in
Cairns and Townsville, the research facility would be
involved in examining the environmental challenges facing
the Great Barrier Reef, the Torres Strait and tropical
rainforests including the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.
The $40 million will be allocated to research in five
key priority areas:
• Understanding the condition and trends of North Queensland’s
environmental assets – improved understanding of the condition,
trend and interdependencies of environmental assets,methods
to support ongoing regular assessment and reporting, and
methods to identify priorities for action.
• Risks and threats to North Queensland’s environmental
assets - improved understanding of threats to, and impact
on, the environment and the region, and options to mitigate
them.
• Water quality and water resources of reef catchments
- improved understanding of the causes and effects of
changing water quality and resource use in coastal catchments,
and options for improving and measuring practices, reducing
risks and mitigating impacts.
• Catchment and coastal land use planning and management
- improved understanding of the current and potential
uses of land with respect to maintenance, improvement
and sustainable use of biodiversity, ecosystem function
and soil resources.
• Sustainable use and management of natural resources
- improved understanding of the current and potential
industry and community uses of biodiversity and natural
resources with respect to ecological, social and economic
sustainability.
The MTSRF is a key element of the Australian Government’s
$100 million Commonwealth Environment Research Facilities
(CERF) programme.
“This facility will help build on and enhance the research
capacity established by the Cooperative Research Centres
(CRCs) for the Great Barrier Reef and Tropical Rainforest
Ecology and Management to support world-class public good
research into the vital needs of the North Queensland
region,” Senator Campbell said.
“Research focusing on these areas will provide us with
the critical information needed to determine trends, measure
pressures and develop possible solutions to the key issues
facing our environment,” Dr Nelson said.
“I would also like to congratulate Mr Warren Entsch, the
Member for Leichhardt, and Mr Peter Lindsay, the Member
for Herbert, for their tireless advocacy in support of
this facility, and indeed for JCU as a whole."
Both Ministers paid tribute to James Cook University for
the key role it is playing in the development and operation
of the facility, and also to the work of the Interim Board
of the facility which provided advice on its future operation
and management, including the research priorities.
Expressions of interest for funding are invited today
until 5pm on Friday 16 December 2005.
Further information about CERF is available online at
www.deh.gov.au/cerf |
