The double burden of climate change
A new study on the effects of climate change in five tropical countries has found fisheries are in more trouble than agriculture, and poor people are in the most danger. Distinguished Profess
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
A Centre scientist has won a prestigious fellowship that will allow her to examine how environmental management can lead to positive outcomes for people and nature.
Environmental social scientist Dr Georgina Gurney has been awarded a Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellowship that will allow her to spend five months in the United States collaborating with leading researchers and practitioners in sustainability and environmental governance.
Dr Gurney’s research focuses on understanding how communities, government agencies and non-government organisations work together or co-manage environmental resources in the Asia-Pacific region. She is based at the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University.
“Achieving global sustainability is one of the most pressing challenges of our time,” Dr Gurney said.
“We need to find ways in which environmental co-management and other forms of environmental governance can deliver outcomes across the three pillars of sustainability: society, the environment, and the economy.”
Dr Gurney’s project involves working with Professor Arun Agrawal at the University of Michigan, where they will investigate the trade-offs and benefits among the multiple social, environmental and economic outcomes of co-management.
“We will be examining the similarities and differences that lead to successful outcomes in managing coral reef fisheries and tropical forests in multiple countries,” Dr Gurney said.
She will also be spending time at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, where she will collaborate with Professor Bill Clark and the international non-profit the Wildlife Conservation Society to develop a decision-support tool to guide co-management for multiple outcomes.
“Although compromises are inevitable in co-management, this project aims to develop ways to mitigate severe trade-offs between outcomes,” Dr Gurney said.
“In a nutshell, the research seeks to understand what co-management practices work, where to contribute to sustainability and to foster the incorporation of this knowledge in real-world co-management practice.”
In 2018, Dr Gurney was recognised as a Young Tall Poppy Science award winner by the Queensland Government.
Read more about Dr Gurney’s research here.
The Fulbright Program is the flagship foreign exchange scholarship program of the United States of America, aimed at increasing bi-national collaboration, cultural understanding, and the exchange of ideas.
Photo available on Dropbox.
Credit: Australian-American Fulbright Commission
Contact:
Dr. Georgina Gurney
ARC CoE for Coral Reef Studies
P: +61 (0) 415 465 712 (AEST/GMT+10)
JCU Media Contact:
Bethany Keats
JCU Media Liaison
P: +61 (0) 7 4781 4586 (AEST/GMT+10)
A new study on the effects of climate change in five tropical countries has found fisheries are in more trouble than agriculture, and poor people are in the most danger. Distinguished Profess
James Cook University researchers have found brightly coloured fish are becoming increasingly rare as coral declines, with the phenomenon likely to get worse in the future. Christopher Hemingson, a
Researchers working with stakeholders in the Great Barrier Reef region have come up with ideas on how groups responsible for looking after the reef can operate more effectively when the next bleaching
A new study has delivered a stark warning about the impacts of urban growth on the world’s coral reefs. As coastal developments expand at pace around the world, a year-long study of coral on a reef
Abstract: Evolution of many eukaryotic organisms is affected by interactions with microbes. Microbial symbioses can ultimately reflect host’s diet, habitat range, and even body shape. However, how
Abstract: The past few years have seen unprecedented coral bleaching and mortality on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) but the consequences of this on biodiversity are not yet known. This talk will expl
Abstract: Molecular approaches have revolutionised our understanding of the systematics and evolution of most branches on the tree of life, including corals. Over the last twenty-five years molecula
Abstract: Outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) are a major driver of coral decline across the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and compound upon the impacts of increasingly frequent and severe coral
Abstract: Being a new staff member at JCU, I will start with a short overview of my research. Next I will zoom in on a specific topic that I have been interested in for a long time: the impact of e
Abstract: The harsh truth is that, despite exciting innovations and increases in activity, ocean conservation is not succeeding, at least not fast enough. This is my conclusion from the last decad
This talk is the last of the parachute science seminar series organized by the ARC CoE Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) committee. Abstract Universities and institutions across th
This talk is the second of three on parachute science being organized by the ARC CoE Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) committee. Abstract For millenia, Traditional Owners have hel
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