Value drivers that help us prioritise research
Enhance knowledge
We work towards improving access to knowledge about species and communities, management needs and values.
Excellence in science
We endeavour to help position Western Australian academic institutions at the forefront of international biodiversity research.
Increasing capacity for informed decision making
Our collaborative research programs deliver better science that provides accurate and objective advice to decision makers and enable more effective decisions.
Timeliness and reduced costs
Our objective is to enhance the capacity to streamline impact assessment, planning and management processes and help organisations to provide timely advice.
The nexus between science and end user needs
This helps us determine if the research proposed will produce an effective and implementable solution.
We seek to achieve two key outcomes from collaborative research
Biodiversity conservation
Strategies that are more effective and efficient for setting priorities, managing and conserving Western Australia’s biodiversity.
Facilitation of sustainable development
Processes that are more effective, transparent, efficient and timely for environmental assessment, regulation and management.
Research themes
Biodiversity survey: A foundational element across programs
Western Australia is characterised by incredible diversity of plant and animal species across varied landscapes/ecological communities. A comprehensive understanding of the State’s biological resources, their distribution and processes that underpin their distribution will be delivered as a foundational research element across our programs.
Ecosystem Processes and Threat Mitigation
Land use change, climate change and invasive alien species represent the three biggest threats to the effective conservation of biodiversity. Greater clarity on these impacts and solutions to mitigate them will build the capacity of land managers to understand and manage the processes that maintain or threaten ecosystems such as fire regimes, water availability and management, climate, introduced species, disease and fragmentation/ loss of connectivity through land clearing.
Conservation and Restoration
Collaboration between industry and researchers has developed restoration technologies for regions of the State, notably within alumina leases on the Darling Ranges. These capabilities will be extended across other land use systems and ecological communities, including developing technologies for ex-situ conservation and translocations of plants and animals.
Biodiversity Data and Information Management
A great deal of information on the State’s biodiversity has already been collected and interpreted by research agencies and industry. An improved knowledge management system will be developed to facilitate aggregation, interpretation and access to the existing data held by government, industry and research agencies. Information Management is a foundational program that supports the collection, analysis and reporting of information derived from the other research nodes.
Cross cutting themes
- Stakeholder engagement
- Transdisciplinary research
- Social and economic analysis
- Aboriginal knowledge
- Communication and adoption