National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Tropical Water Quality Hub Synthesis

The NESP Tropical Water Quality Hub ran from 2015 – 2021 and focused on the delivery of innovative research to improve water quality and ecosystem health from catchment to reef. In the final year, the C2O Consulting team was engaged to bring together the key findings and management applications from all of the research projects into a series of synthesis reports and case studies to provide a more complete picture of water quality and coastal management on the Great Barrier Reef. The synthesis reports included research highlights such as new knowledge or innovations, practical applications and implications of the research for policy and management, as well as future research priorities.

C2O Consulting led a number of these synthesis reports, as well as coordinating and developing communication products to share the research findings with a broader audience. These communication products included the development of an interactive website, videos, case studies and factsheets on a range of topics. The synthesis reports led by the C2O Consulting team were:  

Project 6.1: Innovations in Crown-of-Thorns Starfish control on the Great Barrier Reef (Erdmann et al. 2021)

Project 6.2: Restoring ecosystems from catchment to reef (Pineda et al. 2021)

Project 6.3: Overcoming barriers to reducing nitrogen losses to the Great Barrier Reef (Waterhouse & Pineda 2021)

Project 6.4: Reducing end of catchment fine sediment loads and ecosystem impacts (Pineda & Waterhouse 2021)

Project 6.5: Improving coral reef condition through better informed resilience-based management (Pineda & Johnson 2021)

The C2O Consulting team were also directly involved in several NESP TWQ projects between 2015-2021 including: