Independent science panel
The Independent Science Panel provides strong independent science-based and technical advice to the Australian and Queensland governments on water quality science needs. It is a working group of the Reef 2050 Independent Expert Panel which provides broader scientific advice on implementing the Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan.
The Panel’s vision is:
“To champion quality science to inform policy, planning and management for supporting Reef and catchment ecosystem health.”
The Panel:
- Provides timely response to requests from the Independent Expert Panel and the Executive Steering Committee.
- Provides advice on knowledge gaps, science priorities and delivery associated with the overall implementation of the Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan.
- Conducts scientific reviews of Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan reports, and makes specific recommendations about the direction, content and details of future activities.
- Conduct scientific reviews of the Wet Tropics Healthy Waterways Partnership, Dry Tropics Partnership and Mackay Whitsunday Healthy Rivers to Reef Partnership reports.
- Provides timely independent scientific advice and review to support Reef 2050 Water Quality Improvement Plan implementation, monitoring and reporting:
- be scientifically defensible and achievable
- be undertaken in a scientifically credible and cost-effective manner
- be designed, implemented and managed according to best scientific and environmental standards
- use contemporary, fit-for-purpose methods of data collection, quality assurance and statistical methodologies
- have processes in place to effectively integrate the various program activities (and where appropriate other related activities)
- communicate the findings in a timely and appropriate manner to both technical and non-technical audiences.
- Provides advice on the possible inclusion of new and innovative methods to support monitoring and reporting activities.
For more information, read the Panel’s Principles of Operation and Terms of Reference .
Members
The Panel has a skills-based membership, including an independent chair.
The members are:
- Dr Roger Shaw (Independent Chair), expertise: soil, agronomic and landscape processes
- Dr Peter Doherty (formerly Australian Institute of Marine Science), expertise: marine, ecology and modelling
- Dr Eva Abal (International RiverFoundation), expertise: water quality and ecosystem health target setting and monitoring, information integration, synthesis, reporting and communication
- Dr Graham Bonnett (CSIRO), expertise: sugarcane production
- Dr Andrew Ash (formerly CSIRO), expertise: grazing land ecology, climate impacts and adaptation
- Mr Hugh Yorkston (formerly Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority), expertise: marine monitoring, coastal ecosystems
- Dr Jenny Stauber (CSIRO), expertise: ecotoxicology, environmental risk assessment, contaminants, water and sediment quality guidelines
- Dr John Rolfe (CQ University), expertise: resource economics
- Dr Bill Venables (formerly CSIRO), expertise: mathematics and statistics
Publications
- Last updated
- 5 April 2022