Peter Davies is Foundation Director and Professor of Freshwater Ecology of the Centre of Excellence (Natural Resource Management; CENRM) based in Albany. Initially, negotiations had to be completed with Centre financial partners (Department of Environment, Department of Agriculture, City of Albany, DOTARS, CALM Premier and Cabinet and UWA). CENRM is the only State Centre of Excellence to continue substantially past the core funding period. At present, the Centre has over 25 staff and an annual budget of about $5m. The Centre has grown using funds from a number of Federal funding agencies (RIRDC, LWA, ARC, AusAID etc) and has developed a new Albany-based degree (BSc in Restoration Ecology) and a co-badged MSc in “Integrated Water Management”. Peter has investigated/researched water allocation issues across Australia (Murray-Darling Basin, Lake Eyre Basin etc) and internationally (USA, Sweden, Burkina Faso). Most of this research and management activities involves scientifically-based, equitable water sharing. He is a co-founder of the International Water Centre (with four national universities) whose main research focus is establishing a whole-of-water cycle approach to water management. He continues to work with the irrigation industry to negotiate water sharing and have written chapters for water quality guidelines (e.g. ANZECC). Peter is committed to knowledge exchange and during 2005, co-convened a river restoration workshop for government agencies in each State and Territory.

Australian Dept of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities
National Water Commission
Rangelands NRM Inc

1985-1987 Darling Range Water Quality Studies. Water Authority of Western Australia $1.1 million (Grant with Dr D.H. Edward, Prof. S.E. Bunn).

1987 The importance of autotrophy and heterotrophy to stream function. Australian Water Resources Advisory Committee. $78,000 (award with Dr D. H. Edward for PhD research).

1994 Guidelines for adequate buffers on wetlands on the Swan Coastal Plain. Australian Nature Conservation Agency. $45,000.

1995-1997 Assessment of river health by the measurement of community metabolism. Land and Water Resources Research and Development Corporation, Canberra. $125,147.

1995-1996 Environmental water requirements of lower river ecosystems. (with Prof. A.A. Arthington, Prof. S.E. Bunn) Water Authority of WA. $55,250.

1994-1999 National Riparian Program Land and Water Research and Development Corporation, Canberra. $265,600.

1998-1999 The impact of introduced weeds to the Kakadu wetlands. LWRRDC/ Northern Territory University. $13,000.

1998-2000 Flies and biosolids. ARC-SPIRT Grant (with Profs Gilkes, Bailey and Dr Dadour) $310,000.

1999- Productivity and water flow regulation in the Ord River of north-western Australia. Project 23092. Environmental Flows Initiative, Environment Australia. $295,600.

1999- Importance of flood flows to productivity of dryland rivers and their floodplains. Environment Australia. $365,600.

2000- OK-Tedi Mining PNG Aquatic assessment ($55,000).

2001- Environmental Flows: global assimilation. Repub. South Africa ($155,000).

2001-03 National Riparian Program
(Phase 2). In-stream ecological issues. (Grant with Prof. S. Bunn). Land and Water Australia. $1.2m.

2003 River restoration framework. (Grant with the CENRM, AgWest and Water and Rivers Commission). $50,000 (total).

2004 Temperature modelling for river restoration: biogeographic differences. Land Water Australia ($700,000).

2004 National Water Contaminants Program. ($255,000) Land and Water Aust.

2004 National Action Plan: Salinity (EEI) with CSIRO ($600,000). National Action Plan: Salinity (CDI) Fitzgerald Biosphere ($330,000).

2005 Ecological health of rivers in the Pilbara ($100,000)

2005 SCRIPT Water use by plantation species ($290,000)

2005 International River Foundation Burkina Faso ($250,000)

2005 AusAID: Water issues of fragile nations of the Pacific ($780,000)

2008 TRACK Tropical rivers and coastal knowledge (CERF initiative) with Griffith University, CSIRO L&W and Charles Darwin University ($32m; $21m cash plus $11m in-kind).

2010 National Water Commission ($1.3m).

Freshwater,
water requirements,
stable isotope analysis,
carbon metabolism