Expressions of interest – deadline extended to until 15th February 2019

We are pleased to announce three PhD projects on an exciting new project to start in early-mid 2019, funded by the ARC Linkage program (LP170100305), in partnership with the Tiwi Land Council, Deakin University, Charles Darwin University and the University of Melbourne. All three students will work collaboratively with each other, with all investigators and project postdoctoral researchers, and with Tiwi research assistants, rangers and communities. Indigenous students are particularly encouraged to apply. Please contact the project supervisors for more information and to send your application. After the EOI and interview processes, selected applicants will then need to apply formally and meet institutional requirements.

The project, Planning for sustainable development and biodiversity on Indigenous lands, is a collaboration between Emily Nicholson (Deakin), Kate Hadden (Tiwi Land Council), Brett Murphy (Charles Darwin University, CDU), Margaret Ayre (University of Melbourne, UM), Jane Elith (UM), Gurutzeta Guillera-Arroita (UM), Alan Andersen (CDU), Brett Bryan (Deakin), Tom Kompas (UM).

The Tiwi Land Council has identified a fundamental need to develop their capacity to make informed decisions about integrated land use planning. This project aims to support decision-making on the Tiwi Islands, through new methods for collaborative land-use planning that advance knowledge about trade-offs between sustainable economic development and biodiversity conservation on Indigenous lands.Project outcomes will include identification of conservation values to inform Indigenous Protected Areas on the Tiwi Islands, based on social and ecological values reflecting Tiwi goals.

The three projects focus on different aspects of the project, and will be based across the Universities, with fieldwork on the Tiwi Islands:

1. PhD project at Deakin University: Dynamics of biodiversity and Indigenous values of Tiwi ecosystems (Primary supervisor: A/Prof Emily Nicholson). Deadline 15th Feb
2. PhD project at the University of Melbourne: Participatory approaches to co-developing goals, scenarios and indicators for Tiwi land-use futures (Primary supervisor: Dr Marg Ayre). Deadline 15th Feb
3. PhD project at the Charles Darwin University: Processes driving populations of threatened mammals on the Tiwi Islands (Primary supervisors Dr Brett Murphy and Prof Alan Andersen). Deadline 15th Feb

Please see our project website for more information on the project and PhD roles, including required skills sets.