Enviable record in resource policy issues
Resource and environmental issues involve highly complex interactions between people, their institutions, resource use and the environment. A whole-of-system approach has remained the focus of the Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies (CRES) since its establishment 25 years ago. The necessary interdisciplinary focus demands a balance between staff trained in the primary social, biological and physical sciences. The continuing challenge is to develop concepts, hypotheses, theoretical frameworks and methods that transcend disciplinary bounds yet build on sound disciplinary foundations. Few of the major resource and environmental issues of the past quarter century have not been a focus for the Centre's research. Through this research and associated postgraduate training, CRES has strengthened Australia's capacity to deal with a very wide range of issues that include global climate change, climate impact assessment, sustainable development, biodiversity conservation, land degradation, water resource management, environmental hazards (floods, droughts, storm surge), ecological economics, social impact assessment, institutional policy analysis, environmental history, integrated catchment management, indigenous peoples policies and many others. In addition CRES continues to make a major contribution in developing the modelling and database development tools that are needed to address these issues. The software packages ANUDEM and ANUCLIM are now in use worldwide. Through carefully targeted workshops, conferences and symposia CRES has established an enviable record of anticipating public policy issues in resource and environmental management. These have stimulated necessary discussions between and responses by governments, industry and the wider community. Since foundation, CRES has developed and maintained strong links with national, state and local governments, industry sectors and community groups within Australia as well as with a wide range of international institutions. Memberships of key national and international working groups, committees of review, commissions and consultancies attest to the level of CRES contributions. The broadly ranging portfolio of research interests and disciplinary backgrounds facilitates linkages between CRES and more-disciplinary based Research Schools and Centres within the Institute of Advanced Studies. Only the relatively small size of CRES limits the scope for even greater interaction and identification of externally funded opportunities for joint projects. Professor Henry Nix Director, CRES