Smyth A (CSIRO Centre for Arid Zone Research, Alice Springs)
0958101450
Rangelands; Savannas; Tropical areas; Biodiversity; Monitoring; Best practice; Workshops; Research requirements; Information needs; Natural resources; Resource management; Land management; Environmental management; Benchmarking
A technical expert workshop held from 29 October to 1 November 2002 in Alice Springs NT aimed to identify knowledge gaps in the understanding of biodiversity monitoring in the Australian rangelands, to assess available tools and techniques for biodiversity monitoring and their applicability to rangeland conditions, to develop a manual of well-tested approaches to support planning of biodiversity monitoring programs, to develop a framework for monitoring change using expert knowledge to support adaptive management, and to develop a toolbox that has the capacity for measurable and meaningful benchmarking of the effectiveness of natural resource management (NRM) programs. Key initiatives arising from the workshop include a 'how to' manual describing the basic principles and delivery framework for biodiversity monitoring in the rangelands, and an e-network for planning biodiversity monitoring (A).