Why create a Hub?
Many agencies across the Victorian government invest significant resources in aquatic monitoring and research activities to protect and improve the environmental condition. The government is committed to undertaking coordinated, strategic, efficient monitoring and research work to support these actions. It is also striving to fill knowledge gaps to improve our management, and to clearly show the outcomes of investment to communities. Good management of waterway and catchment health depends on evidence-based decision-making and adaptive management.
To this end, the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP), Victorian Environmental Water Holder (VEWH) and Victorian Catchment Management Authorities (CMAs) created the Applied Aquatic Ecology Research Hub (The Hub) in 2016. The Hub is about bringing together information about aquatic monitoring and research being undertaken in the Victoria in an easily understood and accessible way. Research and monitoring information is broken down into eight core themes.
There are numerous research and monitoring activities underway in Victoria across these themes. The map below shows just ten projects which ARI is involved in.
Healthy aquatic environments supported by informed decisions and adaptive management that is based on effective and efficient research and monitoring.
The Hub’s Five Goals
- Improve coordination of aquatic ecology research and monitoring in Victoria
- Improve communication among researchers, investors and managers to adaptively improve management decisions
- Improve knowledge sharing and communication among Hub Partners
- Improve return on investment in aquatic ecology research and monitoring outcomes
- Improve alignment of research and monitoring with Victorian Government policy direction
To successfully achieve these goals, the Hub model incorporates the principles of cooperation with, and autonomy for, partners, as well as good governance and project management arrangements.
