2007/08 Overview

The Desert Knowledge CRC’s job is to deliver sustainable change for our stakeholders. Our core project work illustrates just how effectively this is being achieved.

• Pastoralists are canny business operators, and they were quick to recognise the potential of our 21st Century Pastoralism™ research to reduce costs and increase productivity. This year we took our research on the road, with excellent results.

• The benefits of the WaterSmart Pastoralism™ and remote livestock management systems (RLMSs) were immediately apparent to end users. Prototype RLMSs include WOW (‘walk-overweighing’), radio frequency identification tags, auto-drafting, telemetry (using SAND:‘ Sparse Ad Hoc Networks for Deserts’) and video surveillance transmitted back to the homestead.

• The attraction and retention of staff into the desert is an important issue for remote stakeholders. In 2007/08 Desert Biz™ core project researchers produced a report on the issue that had a nationwide impact. The report was supported by a separate series of workshops with government and industry in the NT, SA and WA. 

• A report by the Desert Services That Work project team on remote service delivery and work force planning led to a further invitation to comment on the principles emerging from the work of that party. Representatives of this core project also met with and had input into policy setting through the Queensland Department of the Premier and Cabinet (particularly in regard to service delivery to remote communities in western Queensland), and several departments and agencies within the Northern Territory Government. A published report and series of community resources not only led to increased investment from the National Water Commission, they were also compiled as part of a risk assessment tool package by the World Health Organization’s Small Community Water Supply Network.

• The On Track™ core project is a fine example of collaboration with industry and end users. The VRUM™ system (visualising relatively unpredictable movement) measures flows between destinations, and is based on almost a decade of 4WD visitor surveys. Main Roads WA, Tourism NT, the South Australian Tourism Commission, 4WD Victoria, James Cook University and HEMA Maps all collaborated under this DKCRC project to produce maps of the relative attractiveness of alternative routes and destinations.
  

• The Bush Products from the Desert core project has generated significant intellectual property, offering the possibility of technology transfer around husbandry, watering and growing techniques, postharvest fruit handling, disinfestations, and packaging. An exciting example of collaboration between industry and producers was the series of capacity-building activities that enabled the sharing of knowledge between industry participants. Our research on horticultural production led to two developing partnerships with Aboriginal organisations in which the combination of IP, know-how and western science is leading to accelerated development of this type of production in the supply chain.

• The Livelihoods inLand^tm core project is influencing the direction of research both outside the CRC community and within our partner group. A prime example is CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems' development of its national Indigenous Livelihoods focal project, part of its Sustainable Development research theme. Its research questions and approaches draw on lessons from Livelihoods inLand^tm and other DKCRC projects exploring livelihoods pathways.

• Our Desert Fire project received the highest possible accolade, winning the Northern Territory Government’s coveted 2008 Desert Knowledge Research and Innovation Award. Its outputs are now being used by government, land councils, and Aboriginal and private landowners. DKCRC published a working paper on the preliminary application of the Firescape model for central Australian landscapes, helping land managers to understand fire behaviour and impact.

• Finally, a research report into the management of bluebush and saltbush shrub lands in South Australia under sheep grazing provided rangeland managers with data and a computer model for understanding the impact of continuous grazing on growth, death and regeneration of very long-lived shrubs.