Catchments are critical in ensuring water security and maintaining the health of our ecosystems. They underpin Australia's economy, environment, and society.
The Expression of Interest for the proposed Transforming Water Catchments Centre of Excellence was submitted. We thank all Chief Investigators, Partner Investigators, Partner Organisations, and advisors for their unwavering support and commitment. Stay tuned for further updates.
This Centre aims to provide the knowledge, tools, governance models and workforce capability to optimise investments in water catchments. This will generate environmental and socio-economic outcomes through improved water security, nature-based market opportunities, and climate change resilience. The Centre will harness recent advances in Artificial Intelligence tools to ethically synthesise and attribute diverse data and information sources. These tools will be co-designed with end-users and incorporate Traditional Knowledge to inform catchment management in near-real-time and scale to catchments nationally. The outcome will be a world-leading knowledge hub for innovation, capacity building, two-way knowledge sharing, and technology transfer. The Centre will generate the trust and tools needed by communities and government to secure Australia’s water future.
Intended Outcomes
Regulators and utilities would use tools developed by the Centre of Excellence to access, synthesise, and attribute information, informing catchment management. Knowledge generated by the Centre would build confidence in catchment regeneration, attracting greater investment from diverse sources. Workforce across the catchment sector (including government, industry, consulting and academia) would routinely use advanced technology (including Artificial Intelligence) and two-way science. Strong and constructive relationships exist between different agencies, industries, Indigenous groups and communities across Australia, that would create a collaborative approach to sustaining and regenerating healthy catchments.
Research programs
Artificial Intelligence Discovery
Design a novel Artificial Intelligence architecture to make water data and models discoverable and accessible nationally, whilst supporting best practice in data sovereignty and intellectual property protection.
Catchment Science
Provide the catchment science methodology, tools and knowledge needed to target the causes of impaired water quantity and quality.
Governance Transformation
Facilitate equitable and effective delivery of water from investments in catchments and their communities using novel governance approaches and universal frameworks validated across three flagship catchments for translation to other catchments and contexts nationally.
Themes
To achieve these goals, the Centre has the following overarching aims and objectives:
Traditional Knowledge
Apply two-way First Peoples and Western science knowledge, and tools to inform systems thinking, governance models, and equitable solutions for healthy catchments.
Solution Co-Design
Integrate diverse data typologies, assess the value of monitoring programs, and harmonise model data for designing sustainable catchment solutions to benefit governments, First Peoples and local communities.
Capacity Building and Training
The next generation of researchers and practitioners will develop the skills to build effective relationships and synthesise and interpret whole-of-system processes across catchments in a range of different settings.
Meet the Team
Centre Director
Professor David Hamilton, Griffith University
Deputy Director Capacity Building and Training
Professor Kate O'Brien, University of Queensland
Deputy Director Artificial Intelligence Discovery
Professor Ajmal Sayeed Mian, University of Western Australia
Chief Investigator
Professor Justin Brookes, University of Adelaide
Chief Investigator
Professor Bradley Moggridge, University of Technology Sydney
Chief Investigator
Professor Michele Burford, Griffith University
Chief Investigator
Professor Graeme Cumming, University of Western Australia
Chief Investigator
Professor Simon Lucey, University of Adelaide
Chief Investigator
Professor Matthew Hipsey, University of Western Australia
Chief Investigator
Associate Professor Justine Bell-James, University of Queensland
Chief Investigator
Dr Angela Dean, University of Queensland
Chief Investigator
Associate Professor Jim Smart, Griffith University
Chief Investigator
Professor Yongping Wei, University of Queensland
Chief Investigator
Professor Cara Beal, Griffith University
First Nations Liaison and Empowerment
Professor Phil Duncan University of Canberra
Chief Investigator
Dr Hua Zuo, University of Technology Sydney
Chief Investigator
Ms Michelle Hobbs, Griffith University
Chief Investigator
Professor Catherine Lovelock, The University of Queensland
Chief Investigator
Associate Professor Henry Nguyen, Griffith University
Sustainable Development Goals
Griffith University is aligned with the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is committed to tackling global challenges around clean water and sanitation, life on land and partnerships for the goals.
Partner benefits
The proposed centre seeks to partners in Australia to deliver the step change needed to transform catchment management. Specific water research foci will be guided by an extensive consultation process with local communities, First Nations’ peoples, industry and government, providing opportunities for collaboration and networking.
Interdisciplinary collaboration
Enabling resilient water catchments and transformation in decision making requires collaboration among various disciplines such as ecology, environment, hydrology, geology, engineering, IT and social sciences. The proposed centre will play a critical role building and maintaining collaboration among experts from diverse fields to develop holistic solutions.
Stakeholder engagement, including cultural knowledge sharing
Catchment management involves multiple stakeholders and end-users, including government departments, local and indigenous communities, not-for profit organisations, and industry. The proposed centre will engage key stakeholders in decision-making processes, fostering partnerships, and finding solutions for mutual interests to achieve common goals.
Technological innovation
Advances in technology, such as AI and machine learning, remote sensing, and modelling tools, can revolutionise catchment monitoring, assessment, and planning. To break down current barriers, the proposed centre will develop and facilitate adoption of innovative technologies and ensure access to these tools for stakeholders with varying levels of expertise and resources.
Trusted data integration
Effective catchment management relies on the availability of trusted and accurate data. The proposed centre will provide a federated hub – to integrate real-time and other monitoring data and models on key factors such as water quality, quantity, biodiversity, ecosystem health, and socioecological and economic.
Governance and policy reform
In many cases, existing policies and governance structures may impede sustainable catchments management. The proposed centre will drive policy reforms through our partners ultimately leading to sustainable water management practices, incentivising conservation and restoration efforts, and promote adaptive governance approaches and support the growing nature market.
Capacity building and education
Training our future water leaders and building capacity of stakeholders, including communities, policymakers and practitioners is essential for effective and sustainable catchment management that has a lasting impact. The proposed centre will co-develop training, education and outreach programs to enhance understanding of catchment dynamics, ecosystem services and the importance of resilience.