Dr. Richard Thackway

Biography

Richard is a research scientist with extensive experience working within science-policy agencies of the Australian government. He has worked with environmental, agricultural, and forestry agencies developing national initiatives and frameworks involving state and territory governments, universities, NGOs, and land managers. His significant contributions include being an instrumental player in the development of Australia's terrestrial and marine biogeographic regions, National Reserve Systems, and the establishment of a framework for developing a National Vegetation Information System. He has also contributed to national approaches for tracking change and trends in native vegetation condition and land cover dynamics, and has led the development of a consistent framework for reporting impacts of spray drift on native vegetation in intensive agricultural landscapes. Richard’s research focuses on assessing the transformation of ecosystems and landscapes due to changes in land use, land management regimes, and practices based on ecological criteria and indicators of function, structure, and composition. His current research evaluates regenerative landscape management regimes and aims to assist decision-makers in enhancing the ability to monitor and report on the status and track changes in environmental conditions arising from land management practices.

Research Interests