Research Institutes

There is much research being undertaken in relation to wetlands and water. This research is being undertaken by Universities, government agencies and Cooperative Research Centres. Some of this information is available directly on this website. The following is a list of other research based sites that may be of interest.

• Australian Centre for Tropical Freshwater Research is a research and consultancy centre established within James Cook University of North Queensland in 1987 to promote water research, technology and information transfer to industry.
• Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) The Australian Institute of Marine Science conducts research on sustainable use and protection of the marine environment.
• The Australian Society for Limnology (ASL) is a scientific society whose focus is the study and management of inland waters. This site also includes the Australian Wetlands Forum conference papers.
• The Environment Portal website provides a gateway to Australian environment resources on the Internet, including information, news and publications related to coasts and oceans and water resources
• The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority is a Registered Research Agency under the Australian Industry Research and Development Board and can conduct and manage research. However, as the Authority is a management agency, the majority of research is carried out by research institutions such as the CRC Reef Research Centre (CRC) and the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS). Two major, ongoing research programs concern the Crown-of-thorns starfish (COTSWATCH) and Sea Temperature Monitoring. This website also has a research database containing information about research that has been approved by the GBRMPA.
• Griffith University has a range of research centres relevant to wetlands, including:
  • Australian Rivers Institute
  • Centre for Aquatic Processes and Pollution has been decommissioned and now forms part of the Australian Rivers Institute
  • Centre for Environmental Systems Research
  • Centre for Innovative Conservation Strategies has merged with the Centre for Forestry and Horticultural Research to form the Environmental Futures Centre
  • Griffith Centre for Coastal Management
• International Centre for Ecotourism Research
• The Land and Water Australia site has access to a research database, publications and tools links, and a range of articles and information related to wetlands.
• Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility (MTSRF) is a research institute created to ensure the health of North Queensland’s public environmental assets - particularly the Great Barrier Reef and its catchments, tropical rainforests including the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, and the Torres Strait - through the generation and transfer of world-class research and sharing knowledge.
• Caring for Our Country - Data, Maps and Research page links to Australian and state and territory governments' online atlases and mapping tools. It also provides information about the management of geographical data, resources for developing reporting tools for natural resource management activities and projects, and access to a range of online databases and search functions.
• The National Centre for Tropical Wetland Research (NCTWR) based in Darwin, northern Australia, is an Australian Government initiative. The mission of the National Centre for Tropical Wetland Research is to promote the wise use of tropical wetlands through comprehensive research and training practices recognising the importance of effective communication with all stakeholders.
• The OzCoasts website contains much of the information developed as part of the Coastal CRC Wetland’s Portal including conceptual models about estuarine wetland processes and summaries of recent Coastal CRC research projects, as well as information about the use of conceptual models in wetlands science.

Publications, tools and other interesting links

• The National Wetlands Research and Development Program: an important initiative for the management and restoration of Australia's wetlands.

Other Universities and Cooperative Research Centres

• Central Queensland University has a series of water related courses and the Centre for Environmental Management.
• James Cook University has many research centres relating to water and wetlands including the Australian Centre for Tropical Freshwater Research; ARC Centre of Excellence Coral Reef Studies; Marine, Sedimentary Geology and Basin Studies; School of Tropical Environment Studies and Geography; School of Marine and Tropical Biology and more.
• The Queensland University of Technology has the I-Water Initiative. The main aim of this initiative is to establish an inventory of personnel and expertise at QUT within water-related studies and management.
• Queensland University houses the Centre for Water Futures amongst others.
• The University of Southern Queensland has the Centre for Sustainable Catchments and others.
• The University of the Sunshine Coast is working with businesses in the areas of sustainable water and renewable energy.
• eWater Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) builds and supports decision systems and models for total water cycle management in urban and rural catchments, integrating water quality and quantity, stream ecology and economics.
• The Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment (CRC CARE) creates and demonstrates advanced new technologies for dealing with land, groundwater and air contamination.
• The Cooperative Research Centre for Water Quality and Treatment (WQ and Treatment CRC) provides a national strategic research capacity for the Australian water industry. They focus on issues relating to water quality management and health risk reduction, from catchment and reservoir management and water treatment to the distribution of drinking water to consumers' taps. Their mission is to assist the Australian water industry to produce high quality drinking water at an affordable price.
• The looks into water and wetland issues relating to tourism.
• The Desert Knowledge CRC is a research and brokerage institution that links researchers with 28 partners. The Desert Knowledge CRC focuses these research efforts on creating useful outcomes with commercial application for desert people, communities and our partners. These partners provide in-kind and cash support to the Desert Knowledge CRC. Information includes the WaterSmart Pastoral Production™ project plans to combine the best of what is known about grazing management with the best technologies in stock water storage and delivery on pastoral properties.
• The CRC for Irrigation Futures was formed in 2003 to deliver Research, Education and Training which gives confidence to growers, industry, governments and the communities to invest in better irrigation, a better environment and a better future.
• Landscape Environment and Mineral Exploration Cooperative Research Centre (LEME CRC) explores areas in regolith science and is directed toward two principle priorities - mineral exploration under cover and environment and land use. This group explores topics like salinity systems in regolith and groundwater.
• The Cotton Catchment Communities Cooperative Research Centre (Cotton Catchment Communities CRC’s) mission is to undertake collaborative research, education and commercialisation activities to provide innovative knowledge that is adopted for the benefit of the Australian Cotton Industry, Regional Communities and the Nation. Projects include the Rural Water Use and Efficiency Initiative.
• For other information on Australian Cooperative Research Centres the Australian Government Cooperative Research Centres page has links to the many other CRC's around Australia.

Other science and research related links

• Society of Wetland Scientists - Australasian Chapter
• International Water Management Institute - tools and resources (including Eco-Hydrological Databases
• NRM Navigator
• ScienceAlert - Australia and New Zealand