Rebecca Dobbs

My main research activities and interests are in the field of freshwater ecology in both tropical and temperate river systems and in the use of aquatic fauna (macroinvertebrates and fish) to assess aquatic health and drivers of ecological change. I have extensive background and experience in planning, coordinating and undertaking research projects on riverine landscapes within Western Australia.

I have been based in the Kimberley region in Northern Australia for over 15years and I am passionate about supporting the use of multiple knowledge systems to enhance sustainable management of Country. My focus is on wetlands and I am currently collaborating with Indigenous ranger groups across the Kimberley to adapt freshwater monitoring protocols to meet local needs and contexts. I also have a strong interest in developing and maintaining partnerships between research, community (particularly Indigenous) and government agencies as end users of research, providing a pathway for knowledge exchange and Indigenous, locally driven research to input into and support broader-scale management and research.

Lead Researcher -Developing an Indigenous wetland monitoring and management toolkit

This project is creating a wetland monitoring and management toolkit to address a growing interest in monitoring methods that Indigenous rangers can use to assess wetland health and inform management. The toolkit aims to empower Indigenous rangers, Traditional Owners, and Elders to plan, implement and evaluate wetland monitoring projects within the context of their healthy country plans.

Co-designed with Kimberley Indigenous ranger groups, the toolkit will be founded in indigenous aspirations for wetlands and draw upon Aboriginal and scientific knowledge in a multiple evidence-based approach.

This project is a collaboration between The University of Western Australia and Environs Kimberley, the peak environmental non-government organisation for the Kimberley.

Focusing on the Kimberley region as a case study, the project is consolidating research and collaborations that the project team (UWA and Environs Kimberley) and Kimberley rangers have been engaged in for over a decade with learnings for the broader community, government agencies and natural resource management groups.

Researcher -Addressing Kakadu’s strategic research needs 

The Indigenous-owned lands of Kakadu National Park are World Heritage-listed and globally significant. The natural and cultural values of Kakadu are at risk from a range of threats that are only increasing and intensifying over time. To manage these threats, there is a pressing need to develop a Kakadu research strategy that will provide guidance on both what research is required in Kakadu and how that research should be conducted. This project will also provide the foundation for a co-designed program of research for other hubs of the National Environmental Science Program (NESP) and their respective cross-cutting initiatives

Lead Researcher - Working together for wetlands: a joint UWA, Environs Kimberley, and Kimberley Indigenous Ranger project 

This collaborative research supported Kimberley Indigenous Ranger groups to plan and implement wetland monitoring using a multiple evidence base of Indigenous knowledge systems and University-based sciences. Acknowledging that Kimberley wetlands are key ecosystems from a conservation perspective and interlinked with Kimberley Traditional Owner ways of knowing, being and doing, the project supported groups to monitor wetlands and answer questions generated by each group’s concerns, practices and knowledge. Funding sources include Lotterys, NESP Northern Hub and NESP Resilent Landscapes Hub

Key Researcher - Kimberley Indigenous Saltwater Science Project (KISSP) 

Invited to work with  a multidisciplinary team including seven Ranger groups across the Kimberley. The Indigenous led project produced a range of products to build capacity for collaborative management of Kimberley Saltwater Country including : Guidelines for collaborative Knowledge Work, A Regional Saltwater Monitoring Framework and Toolbox (highlighting research and knowledge gaps) and a Researchers Guide.

Lead Researcher - Developing a bilarra (wetland) monitoring program for the Yawuru Indigenous Protected Area 

Researchers from The University of Western Australia (UWA) worked with the Yawuru Country Managers and the Yawuru Environmental Services team to develop a bilarra (wetland) monitoring program for the Yawuru Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) in the Kimberley region of north-western Western Australia. The monitoring program was developed to support the Country Managers to assess the sustainable cattle grazing operations on the IPA, and whether they are achieving their IPA objectives for protecting wetlands. The 4-year project involved a Multiple Evidence Based approach, which sees different knowledge systems, such as Indigenous (Yawuru) and university-based science, as all validly contributing to understanding the natural environment – in this case, bilarra.

National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Northern Australia Environmental Resources Hub (NAERH) Managing savanna riparian zones subproject

Research Coordinator - Partnerships and tools to support biodiversity monitoring by Indigenous land and sea managers

A three year project with the Nyul Nyul Rangers provided an opportunity to trial a more equitable and collaborative approach to wetland research.  Through this research, we adopted multiple techniques (workshops, questionnaires, site visits, collaborative field sampling) to share wetland science, and support the Nyul Nyul community to share their knowledge and aspirations for wetlands and develop a freshwater monitoring program. This approach enabled the community to prioritise sites and issues for the research program, and together Nyul Nyul knowledge and western science techniques provided a comprehensive understanding of wetland change and condition.

Research Coordinator - Waterways Education Program

Developed and currently coordinate (since 2009) a Waterways Education Program in the Kimberley region. As I am based in Kununurra, this project has involved a partnership between UWA and the Department of Water (Kununurra regional office), that focuses on developing community (particularly Indigenous) skills and knowledge related to science, research and management. Providing a pathway for both locally driven research and community input into broader scale management and research.

Researcher: Northern Australia Water Futures Assessment: Assessing the ecological impacts of climate change and development across northern Australia. National Water Commission. Current.

Led by the University of Western Australia in collaboration with researchers from a variety of universities and research organisations, the project aimed to improve our understanding of water-dependent ecological assets across northern Australia and the risks to those assets arising from hydrologic changes due to water resource development or climate change.

Tropical Rivers and Coastal Knowledge  NAWFA

Research Coordinator for Kimberley Trials - Framework for Assessing River and Wetland Health in the Wet/dry Topics of Australia. National Water Commission. Completed 2011

The Framework for Assessing River and Wetland Health was trialled in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the framework in assessing river health in the wet/dry tropics, and contributing to north Australian river management. TRACK River and Wetland Health Framework

Research Coordinator : Long Term Ecological Research on a Pilbara River System – Implications for environmental water requirements and management. WA Department of Water Completed 2010

Research Partner: Feral Pig Monitoring and Eradication Program in the Fitzroy Region. State NRM Funding 

Freshwater ecology (tropical and temperate systems) · Wetland monitoring and health assessment · Indigenous led and co-designed research · Multiple Evidence Base approaches ·Aquatic fauna (macroinvertebrates and fish) as ecological indicators · River health and environmental flows · Environmental water requirements · Wet/dry tropical river systems ·  Northern Australian freshwater ecosystems 

My position with the University of Western Australia, based in the remote town of Kununurra is multidisciplinary and addresses a combination of ecological research, engagement (both indigenous, government and non government) and science extension components.
• Collaborative projects incorporating both Indigenous and Western Science Knowledge to inform monitoring and management of freshwater ecosystems in the Kimberley
• Ranger training and river health monitoring
• Macroinvertebrate Ecology
• Environmental water requirements
• River health and environmental flows
• Environmental monitoring and assessment (aquatic)
• Coordinate, initiate and manage regional research projects on riverine landscapes and provide expertise and input into key strategic state and national water programs and initiatives
• Coordinate Waterways Education Program in the Kimberley
• Undertake collaborative research with Indigenous Rangers and community groups