Collaboration to concentrate conservation expertis

Collaboration to concentrate conservation expertise

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between Victoria University and Griffith University in Queensland, Australia will benefit research in the areas of biodiversity, biotechnology, conservation, ecology and genetics.

The signing between Victoria's Centre for Biodiversity and Restoration Ecology and the Centre for Innovative Conservation Strategies at Griffith University represents the first step towards a closer working relationship between the two specialised centres says Victoria Centre Director Associate Professor Ben Bell.

“The centres will co-operate to expand existing research, gain external research funding for joint research projects, establish postgraduate student exchanges and initiate joint research programmes," Dr Bell says.

“We aim to define a series of joint research projects in Australian (subtropical) and New Zealand (temperate) environments, and to also explore potential research collaboration in the Pacific islands.”

The MOU was fostered by research collaborations between Associate Professor Darryl Jones, Director of the Griffith University centre, and Dr Wayne Linklater, senior lecturer in conservation biology at Victoria.

Signed by Victoria University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Pat Walsh, the MOU is the first international agreement to be formalised by the Centre for Biodiversity and Restoration Ecology. Established in 2006, the Centre concentrates its expertise on biodiversity research and the need to identify and restore depleted populations, species and communities in ecosystems that have been impacted by human activity.

“Victoria University staff are undertaking a range of research projects that embrace the focus of the Griffith University Centre - innovative conservation strategies. Staff and students at Victoria have worked in collaboration with the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary and the Department of Conservation, developing new approaches to biodiversity and restoration ecology research. Investigations into the decline and conservation of our native frogs and tuatara are examples,” Dr Bell says.

ENDS

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