Healthy Moreton Bay leadership

Healthy Moreton Bay will draw on the leadership of the Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC) and strong partnerships with The Moreton Bay Foundation and other key stakeholders, including government, industry and the general public.

A collaborative approach is key to developing, testing and embedding sustainable ecological management practice, not just for the bay itself, but for the coastline and catchment areas facing threats compounded by climate change and severe weather events. Not least among these threats are:

• intrusion of invasive species
• sediment that smothers coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangroves, killing the flora and fauna that rely on them for life
• a growing list of pollutants
• land erosion.

Multi-disciplinary research, across UQ and in partnership with other institutions, will be accelerated through enhanced data synthesis and solutions modelling capability.

Research leadership

The Healthy Moreton Bay Endowed Research Chair is a first, vital step in achieving this vision. The Chair will bring a multidisciplinary research framework to life, integrating field investigation, data synthesis, solutions modelling, testing and intervention. Working closely with researchers and collaborators across wide-ranging areas of expertise, the Chair will assess and fill evolving needs and knowledge gaps.

Existing UQ infrastructure will be central to success, including but not limited to the Centre for Marine Science, the Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, the Moreton Bay Research Station and the School of the Environment. Community, government, educational and industry stakeholders are equally key and the Chair will foster collaboration while working respectfully with Traditional Owners.

A $5 million endowment will secure the Chair, potentially a named Chair, in perpetuity and ensure the inaugural Chair is a global leader with a proven track record in innovative, impact-based conservation research and practice.

Stage 1 of the initiative relies on an investment of $8.5 million:

• Healthy Moreton Bay Endowed Research Chair — $5 million
• Interdisciplinary research fellows/early career researcher cluster — $2.5 million
• Interdisciplinary PhD student cluster — $500,000
• Indigenous Scholars in Residence program — $500,000

A generous $1 million gift from The Goodman Foundation has brought realising the Healthy Moreton Bay vision one step closer to reality. It’s a first, big step.

But it will take ‘a village’ to make this happen.

Inspired philanthropists who similarly embrace this opportunity for transformative environmental change are vital.