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REMNANT NATIVE VEGETATION INVESTIGATION
- Scientific Advisory Committee
Return to Remnant Native Vegetation Investigation
The Remnant Native Vegetation Investigation Scientific Advisory Committee has four members: Rod Gowans (Chair), Dr Sue McIntyre, Dr Denis Saunders and Prof Andrew Bennett.
The Committee will provide advice to the Council on:
- current scientific research and data which actually or potentially underpin policy development related to remnant native vegetation, ecological fragmentation and connectivity
- techniques and approaches that would assist VEAC in the conduct of this investigation
- gaps in knowledge and options for commissioning work to fill those gaps in both the short term and long term
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Rod Gowans PSM
(Chair)
Rod Gowans has over 30 years experience in the management of natural resources on public and private land. He has worked in various executive leadership roles responsible for the management of national parks, conservation reserves and the conservation of biodiversity. He has both national and international experience in programs for nature conservation. He is currently a member of the Victorian Catchment Management Council, a Trustee of Trust for Nature and a member of the Board of Parks Victoria. He was awarded the Public Service Medal (PSM) in the 2007 Australia Day honours for outstanding public service to the conservation of biodiversity and to the management of national parks. |
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Prof Andrew Bennett
Prof. Andrew Bennett holds a Personal Chair in Landscape Ecology in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University. He teaches undergraduate students in ecology and landscape ecology; has successfully supervised 9 PhD, 1 MSc and more than 20 Hons students; and supported 4 Research Fellows in his group. Together with colleagues at Universities and government agencies, his research has provided new insights into the conservation biology of a wide range of wildlife species, the ecology of mallee and woodland ecosystems, and the consequences of human land-use and landscape change (e.g. agriculture, habitat fragmentation, fire) for nature conservation. He serves on scientific advisory committees for agencies (e.g. Parks Victoria, Zoos Victoria, Birds Australia) and is on the Editorial Board for the journal Ecological Management and Restoration. |
Photo courtesy of Peter Houghton
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Dr Sue McIntyre
Sue is a Senior Principal Research Scientist at CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, in Canberra. She trained at the University of Melbourne and CSIRO Centre for Irrigation Research in Griffith, NSW. Her research career, which has explored various aspects of native vegetation in agricultural landscapes, spans 28 years with a trail of 90 publications, many of them highly cited. Her research interests have included weed ecology, plant rarity, conservation biology, landscape ecology and plant functional types. Her greatest impacts internationally have been contributions to the conceptual development of plant functional types in relation to disturbance response in plants. Nationally, the development of landscape scale strategies for the conservation of eucalypt grassy woodlands in grazed landscapes has influenced land use planning and policy. Other impacts have resulted from various papers and presentations articulating of the importance of intensive land use in determining landscape condition and prospects for restoration. |
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Dr Denis A Saunders AM
Dr Denis A Saunders AM is a conservation biologist and landscape ecologist. He is: a Member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists; Chair, Sara Halvadene Foundation; President, WWF Australia; 1998 recipient of the International Society for Conservation Biology’s Individual in Government Award for “significant , meaningful and lasting contributions to conservation biology”; 1999 recipient of International Association for Landscape Ecology’s Distinguished Scholarship Award for “exceptions contributions to the development of landscape ecology as a s science and a practice”; 2000 highly commended in the Prime Minister’s Environment Award for “highly significant contribution to the research and practice of biodiversity conservation”; 2006 D. L. Serventy medallist for “outstanding contributions to publication in the science of ornithology in the Australasian region”; Former Chief Research Scientist, CSIRO Wildlife & Ecology; Councillor, Australian Heritage Council (2004-2009); Editor, Biological Conservation (2002-2008); Editor, Landscape and Urban Planning (1994-2006); Associate Editor, Pacific Conservation Biology; Former Member, Earthwatch (Australia) Board of Directors; and Member, Parks Victoria’s Environment Committee |
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