Ten years ago, in July 2013, we arrived at Diamantina National Park to fill our new roles as ranger-in-charge (Mitch) and casual ranger – a big change from our Brisbane roles. This short video is a quick snapshot of the amazing changes over the seasons until we left in 2020. Low-res for easy download, and best viewed with a coffee…
We’ve been busy over the last couple of years and haven’t been posting as we should have! I’ll add our completed projects into the ‘our work’ page. Meanwhile, Andrea and Fiona both went to Lord Howe Island World Heritage Site in December just at the peak breeding season for lots of seabirds. Amazing scenery and fabulous to see the recovery of wildlife after the removal of rats. These introduced rodents have had such an impact on many species. Not only…
In June, Fiona and Prof Marc Hockings were among 80 people from 35 countries invited to a meeting in the Italian Alps, to discuss management effectiveness evaluation of protected areas. It was a great opportunity to meet some fascinating people and to pass on some of the work that we have done over the last 20 years. We were so happy to be able to ‘pass the baton’ for the international compilation of this work on to some very capable…
Fiona was fortunate in July to be part of a group that travelled across Munga-Thirri (Simpson Desert), following the story of the Two Boys Dreaming. The journey was organised by Wangkangurru elder and park ranger Don Rowlands, and our group included his family members, including three teenaged grandchildren keen to learn about their culture and language. Also with us were a linguist, anthropologist, archaeologist, botanist, ecologist and film-makers. It was a hectic and action-packed ten-day trip, and a journey in…
Fiona and Mat helped UNDP and CEPA in hosting the first meeting towards forming a network of Rangers in Papua New Guinea. It was a productive meeting and we hope it will be another important step in establishing a functioning system of well-managed protected areas in the country.
IN 2016-2017 our small team (Fiona, Ann and Greg) in conjunction with staff from PNG’s Conservation and Environment Protection Agency conducted an evaluation of all the protected areas in the country. We worked for SPREP (Secretariat of the Pactific Regional Environment Council) and UNDP, with funding from the Global Environment Fund. Whew enough acronyms! Thanks also to all the wonderful people who gave freely of their time to come to workshops. The final report can be downloaded here.PNGPA-final-130318-lo
We contributed to a new paper compiling information about threats to protected areas, with several Protected Area Solutions associates (and FL) in the author list Schulze_et_al-2018-Conservation_Letters
ABC News Report http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-09/pacific-green-turtles-future-under-threat,-scientists-warn/9311280 Almost the entire green turtle population in parts of the northern Great Barrier Reef is now female, and scientists are concerned about their future. Key points: Warmer temperatures generally produce more female hatchlings In northern areas 99pc of the juvenile and subadult populations were female Scientists found for the past 20 years in some areas there had been no male hatchlings A study published today in the journal Current Biology — led by the National Oceanic…
10 top conservation tech innovations from 2017 From Mongabay The increased portability and reduced cost of data collection and synthesis tools have transformed how we research and conserve the natural world. Devices from visual and acoustic sensors to DNA sequencers help us better understand the world around us, and they combine with online mapping platforms to help us monitor it. New online and mobile apps have democratized data collection, inspiring a brave new world of citizen scientists to learn about…
Better understanding of protected areas management and priorities were some of the key outcomes from Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) Protected Areas project highlighted during a side event at the 28th Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) meeting, in Apia, Samoa. PNG currently has 58 gazetted protected areas, both marine and terrestrial. Under PNGs new Protected Areas Policy it will regularly evaluate management effectiveness of these areas. The evaluation of the effectiveness of management within these protected areas was…