Environment

The University of Queensland (UQ), with funding from the Global Environment Facility, has developed two free online courses to support the conservation of climate-resilient coral reefs and the aims of the GEF 7 Coral Reef Rescue Project and the broader Coral Reef Rescue Initiative. These courses are now available in both English and Bahasa Indonesian on UQ’s Edge online learning platform.

As part of celebrating the 30-year anniversary of protecting waterways, Global Environment Facility (GEF) International Waters (IW) held its 10th GEF International Waters Conference (IWC10) 2024, in Punta Del Este, Uruguay. Hosted by the Government of Uruguay, the normally biennial IWC resumed in-person for the first time in 6 years, under the theme 'Transformative actions and impacts for the water and ocean SDGs.

Australia Awards alum, Dr Khin Myat ‘Soe’, has worked in agriculture and aquaculture for more than 20 years improving agriculture, fish farming and the lands and waters involved in making this vital food source resilient. 

The University of Queensland (UQ) International Development unit recently finalised a successful short course on climate change for the Australian Government’s Australia Awards Myanmar.

In October 2023, the University of Queensland in partnership with the Coral Reef Rescue Initiative, launched its Online Course CRRI101x Coral Reefs: Introduction to Challenges and Solutions. The course was developed for stakeholders of the Coral Reef Rescue Initiative and the WWF Global Environment Facility Coral Reef Rescue Project. The goal of this course is to connect a wide range of stakeholders from government and non-government organisations, academic and communities to a network of knowledge and best practice to identify solutions for the conservation of climate-resilient coral reefs.

The Coral Reef Rescue: Resilient Coral Reefs, Resilient Communities Project (CRR GEF), funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF),  has embarked on its epic journey to safeguard globally significant climate refuge reefs in six countries Fiji, Solomon Islands, Indonesia, Philippines, Madagascar and Tanzania.

Selayar in Indonesia is the gateway to Taka Bonerate, a highly biodiverse marine national park, which is under serious threat from overexploitation and ocean plastic. To protect the area and other marine environments in the Coral Triangle, UQ researchers from CCRES developed strategies to strengthen coastal management.

Pacific communities are considered to be the ‘most vulnerable’ to the impacts of climate change. Consequently, aid is now being redirected to community-scale adaptation. UQ researchers are engaging with Pacific communities to evaluate community-based adaptation initiatives and generate recommendations to optimise future efforts.

With the immense environmental challenges the world faces, our ability to adapt is vital. An international research team led by Dr Pedro Fidelman engaged with stakeholders involved with the co-management of coastal resources in Cambodia and Vietnam with the aim of understanding the conditions that enable adaptive capacity.