ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
James Cook University Townsville
Queensland 4811 Australia
Phone: 61 7 4781 4000
Email: info@coralcoe.org.au
Duan Biggs is currently working as a research officer for CSIRO Resource Futures. Prior to coming to Australia, Duan lived in South Africa where he worked on and researched integrated conservation and ecotourism development projects. Duan has conducted work, consultancies and research in 6 African countries. He is interested in applying resilience theory and adaptive management tools to biodiversity conservation and sustainability
challenges in developing regions.
Mental models are defined as the models people use to interpret the world around them and these are partially culturally derived. Conservation practice in many developing countries operates in a multi-cultural arena and therefore different actors have different mental models in interpreting a project’s, desired objectives, actions and outcomes. This presents a key challenge to conservation scientists and managers. In-depth interviews were used to investigate these issues in community-based birding tourism initiatives in South Africa.
The results demonstrate differences in the perceptions and world views of community beneficiaries, project managers and stakeholders with respect to levels of project success and stakeholder conflict. Evidence of differences in mental models is also shown through the differences in the expectations of the roles of the different project actors. Organizational frameworks that operate for five years or more in a transparent, participatory fashion are recommended to bridge these differences over time. This requires a shift away from traditional project business models which are designed for project sustainability over a relatively short period of time to models which embrace the long term commitment required for multi-cultural settings.
Australian scientists have discovered a massive detached coral reef just off Cape York on the Great Barrier Reef that’s taller than the Empire State Building or the Sydney Tower. The scientists f
A new study of the Great Barrier Reef shows populations of its small, medium and large corals have all declined in the past three decades. Lead author Dr Andy Dietzel, from the ARC Centre of Excell
Scientists have found that as the world undergoes profound environmental change, identifying and protecting ‘novel’ communities of species can help prevent extinctions within vulnerable ecosystems
Scientists say a ‘portfolio’ of protected areas within marine parks such as the Great Barrier Reef can help secure sustainable fish populations. Dr Hugo Harrison from the ARC Centre of Excellen
Abstract: CHE is not a particular theory or a single approach but a collection of lines of research that address human-environmental interactions in coastal and marine systems at the local scale
Abstract: How can we care about something we never see or experience? Virtual reality has the potential to connect people with far-away places, and is an effective medium to generate empathy and sel
Abstract: When abundant, seabirds feeding in the open ocean transport large quantities of nutrients onto islands, enhancing the productivity of island fauna and flora. These nutrients can leach int
Abstract: Current-day populations of coral reef fish suffer when exposed acutely to elevated temperatures, but future warming will occur over greater timescales. Recent studies show that developmenta
Abstract: There is often a mismatch between the scales at which ecosystems are threatened by human impacts and those at which management and policy are implemented. Better understanding the scales ov
Abstract: Ocean warming and acidification are challenging the tolerance limits of scleractinian corals. However, beneficial acclimation and stress-hardening via phenotypic plasticity may be pathw
Abstract: Globally, coral reefs are under threat. Unfortunately, the rate of ecosystem degradation often surpasses the rate of generation of knowledge required to support management. Despite the consi
Partner Research Institutions
ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
James Cook University Townsville
Queensland 4811 Australia
Phone: 61 7 4781 4000
Email: info@coralcoe.org.au
