DynaSav researcher
The CRC would like to welcome Les Searle, who has been appointed
as a researcher on the CRC Vegetation Change project (DynaSav). Les
is based at the Cairns campus of James Cook University, and has a
challenging role in the DynaSav project.
He has a lead role in three of the seven activities within the
project. His initial task is to identify and integrate the existing
data about woody vegetation dynamics in the savannas. This will
lead on to the other activities of using landscape and aerial
photography to document historical woody vegetation change and
gathering landholder experiences and perceptions of the extent and
causes of woody vegetation change.
He comes to the position with formal qualifications in
surveying, remote sensing and GIS. Prior to taking this appointment
he worked part time on a Rainforest CRC project Improving GIS
models of Ecological Impacts while also running a mapping
consultancy. He is an adjunct lecturer in Remote Sensing at James
Cook University
Les’s task is largely one of collaboration and
coordination with a large number of others involved in the
project.
Les will be contacting many of you to seek your assistance in
contributing to this project.
Les's contact details are below. To read about the Dyna Sav
project, click on the link below.
Activity leaders: multiple use on savanna lands
Several staff changes have been made to the Multiple use in
savanna lands project, led by Romy Greiner. Two of the
project’s activities have new research leaders. Dr Tim Lynam,
leader of CSIRO’s Resource Futures Program in Townsville is
now leading the activity exploring outback institutions. This
activity aims to extend our understanding of what institutional
arrangements outback managers or resources users respond to in
making resource management/use decisions and how these decisions
might change under different institutional arrangements. It is also
a joint research activity with the CSIRO Socio-Economic Integration
Focus Research Area, CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems and the Desert
Knowledge CRC.
Silva Larson has replaced Dr Karen Vella as leader of the
activity on Community Benefits of Tourism.
Based on the success of the previous years’ investigations
into community benefits from tourism in Carpentaria Shire and the
Kimberley, the research will develop and test a framework for
evaluating the benefits of the “Savannah Way”. The
introduction of the Savannah Way as a themed way to travel through
the tropical savannas from Cairns to Broome has been the most
significant development in tourism in this region over at least a
decade. However, no tools currently exist to be evaluating the
impacts of this development on the communities and regions along
its way.
Reports on this activity’s previous work in the
Kimberley and Gulf of Carpentaria can be downloaded from our
Publications Section, see link below.
Contact details for both Silva and Tim are below.
