Large Scale River Restoration - Seeking PhD Student!

Are you looking for a rewarding PhD?

Do you want to contribute to the health of Australian rivers, flora and fauna?

Do you like fieldwork, but also tapping away at your keyboard?

-----If YES Read on!-----

Photos: Melinda Hayter and Natalie Holland

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The Lower Murrumbidgee floodplain is one of the most important large wetland areas in the Murray-Darling Basin. The Australian and New South Wales Governments recently purchased the land (19 properties, 88,000 ha) and water entitlements (320,000 ML) at a cost of $180 million. UNSW was part of a successful consortium of Nari Nari Tribal Council, The Nature Conservancy and Murray Wetlands Working Group who were given carriage of land and water management planning of the project, the largest river restoration project in the Murray-Darling Basin. This project aims to integrate environmental and cultural values in its restoration with environmental flows. 

IDEAL CANDIDATE

We are looking for someone with interdisciplinary skills spanning environmental, hydrological and cultural values in relation to river restoration. The research would involve collaborating with a range of stakeholders, including Traditional Owners, environmental flow managers, hydrological engineers and scientists. The research would focus on how best to restore this magnificent ecosystem, involving the modelling of flow and flooding regimes and tracking future trajectories of restoration for the many different ecosystems, their plants, animals and areas of high cultural importance. Our candidate should ideally be a good communicator, with highly proficient quantitative modelling skills and be prepared to engage in significant amounts of fieldwork. Given this project will also have considerable impacts on the management of environmental flows, the successful candidate should also be able to work with government agencies and have a willingness to develop skills in interpreting relevant policy and legislation related to environmental flow management.

More info on doing a PhD at UNSW

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