PhD candidate, Geography, Planning and Environmental Management, The University of Queensland
Increases in coastal human populations, and associated anthropogenic activities (e.g. agriculture, fishing), has led to increased pressure on coastal and marine natural resources. These increasing pressures can be seen in many regions, for example in Melanesia, where there is an increasing demand for income and material goods, as well as a growing population and access to markets. As a consequence, the frequency and intensity of fish and marine invertebrate harvesting is increasing, and more land is being used for commercial agriculture. In addition, as economic activity increases through increased development, more leases for logging and mining are being granted, in turn negatively affecting fisheries through sediment runoff. This problem is being exacerbated by climate change with increased rainfall, and thus more sediment run-off, already experienced in many areas. This project will focus on how land-use changes and management interventions impact fisheries in regions with high dependence on coastal resources. The project will model the impact of land-uses on marine ecosystems under various climate scenarios at multiple scales. Information from this model will then be analysed to assess and prioritise what conservation interventions will best maximise conservation and fisheries objectives, and when those interventions should be implemented.
Earth’s wilderness is vanishing, and just a handful of nations can save it
Nov 04, 2018 14:17 pm UTC| Insights & Views Nature
Just 20 countries are home to 94% of the worlds remaining wilderness, excluding the high seas and Antarctica, according to our new global wilderness map, published today in Nature. A century ago, wilderness extended...
New map shows that only 13% of the oceans are still truly wild
Aug 01, 2018 13:58 pm UTC| Insights & Views Nature
Just 13% of the worlds oceans are now free from intense human activities such as fishing, according to a new map of ocean wilderness areas. Our research, published in the journal Current Biology, shows that only 55...
There’s an extra $1 billion on the table for NT schools. This could change lives if spent well