HIGH FLYERS THINK TANK

National Research Priorities Strategic Forum
26–27 June 2002

Research priorities nominations
8 August 2002

A healthy country
A healthy people
Creating new industries
Smart tools for industry and research
High flyers priorities workshop participants

A healthy country

1. Name and address

In setting these research priorities, we considered the following:

• the fragility of the Australian landscape, combined with the enormous diversity of plant life, climatic conditions and soil types
• the importance of improved agricultural systems (including plant crops and animals) and sustainable management of the environment to our nation
• the importance of understanding the effect of human habitation on delicate ecosystems such as our marine environment
• national goals of enhancing the economic and social wellbeing of Australians through increasing the knowledge base in pure and applied science
• the need to capitalise on our human resources and research strengths to develop innovative solutions suitable for Australia’s unique environmental challenges.

A healthy country

The sustainable use of Australia’s natural resources – A healthy country for the wealth and wellbeing of Australians

3. Priority goals

Create a healthy and sustainable country through:

• understanding change in the environment
• optimising Australia’s agricultural industry
• creating sustainable and new opportunities in energy.

Understanding change in the environment

Criterion 1

Why is a healthy country a priority?

As Australia is reliant on agricultural commodities, both to feed our population and to earn export dollars there is an economic imperative for the development of sustainable agricultural systems, including plants (crops) and animals (cattle, sheep versus kangaroo) and marine and freshwater produce (fish and crustacean aquaculture). There is already extensive expertise and infrastructure in these areas, but there is a need to continue to foster innovation and creativity to attract new scientists to this area, both from a national and international pool.

Past and current agricultural practices have led to land degradation; therefore the potential for research in this area to achieve significant improvement and impact is great.

The maintenance of our unique environments is crucial to the tourism industry.

As Australia is predominantly an urban society (about 80% of Australia’s population lives within 50km of the coast), the impact of people on marine and estuarine environments is enormous. We are only beginning to grasp the damage that we have done (salinity, pollution, silting up of river mouths, damage to reefs, introduction of invasive species). Furthermore, we are damaging the environments and losing species before we even know what species we had. This is particularly the case for marine, estuarine and terrestrial invertebrates. Many of these species may have economic importance as potential biological controls or pharmaceutical agents.

Our terrestrial urban environments are also changing at an enormous rate. The majority of human impacts has been negative – reduction in natural habitats for native species, increased pollution – however, there have also been positive effects. For example, the increased concentration of flowering plants in residential gardens is attracting greater numbers of some native bird and reptile species (rosellas and lizards). Understanding both the positive and negative impacts on urban ecology is important in future urban planning.

As a responsible global citizen, Australia must reduce the generation of greenhouse gases by decreasing our reliance on fossil fuels through the development of renewable sources of energy.

Criterion 2

What is needed?

• more interdisciplinary research and collaboration between research organisations. Funding organizations need to facilitate, rather than block, cross organisation/cross discipline research
• flexibility of research funding – small to large scale
• acknowledgement of international linkages
• earth sciences – these underpin most of discussion on healthy environment
• social sciences – critical for the development of practices which will change our impact on the environment
• scientists taking responsibility for social impact of their research.
• secondary education – stimulating interest, improving infrastructure and offering better opportunities for science studies
• the identification of processes (genes) in plants that optimise water-use efficiency, growth, require less fertiliser or pesticide, and improve disease resistance.
• commercialisation strategies
• the means to facilitate creativity and blue sky research.

The benefits

• a decline in the rate of land degradation
• more efficient and less damaging agriculture
• a reduction in the use of fossil fuels
• the creation of new products and services in agriculture, energy and natural resource management.

A healthy people

1. Name and address

2. Broad thematic priority

A healthy people

Finding new ways to improve the people’s health and reduce the impact of disease

3