Robinson, Sharon A. Senior Professor

Under The Antarctic Treaty, Australia and other nations which operate in Antarctica have a responsibility to conserve and protect Antarctica’s unique environment. Through the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, adopted in 1991, the Contracting Parties “commit themselves to the comprehensive protection of the Antarctic environment and dependent and associated ecosystems”. Research undertaken by the University of Wollongong over more than 20 years has had a significant and wide-reaching impact on Australia's environmental, economic, legal and political responsibilities and leadership role in Antarctica.   Monitoring and management: UOW research outcomes have informed Antarctic Environmental Managers on the health of Antarctic terrestrial and near shore ecosystems, highlighting which species may be at risk from climate change or disturbance from Antarctic station activities. I have provided expert advice to AAD Environmental Managers on proposed activities around Antarctic stations and contributed to development of Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA) management plans. While our research has had most application to the Australian Antarctic Territories, methodologies developed have increasingly been of interest to environmental managers from other nations, as we are considered to be developing best practice in this area. As a result, in 2016 I was invited to join the Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR) Antarctic Near-shore and Terrestrial Observing System (ANTOS) Expert Group and to develop an East Antarctic ANTOS node.   UOW researchers Robinson and then HDR student Jane Wasley were invited by Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) Environmental Managers to develop a State of the Environment (SOE) Indicator for Antarctic terrestrial vegetation dynamics. Robinson's group had earlier established the first long-term monitoring sites near the Australian Antarctic Casey Station in 2003, from an initial pilot [1-2]. Robinson, Wasley and Dr Catherine King (AAD) went on to develop, and are the current custodians of, SOE Indicator 72 [3] with UOW the responsible organisation. This is currently the only long-term monitoring system in place for Antarctic terrestrial vegetation on the continent, and informs both the Management Plans for Antarctic Specially Protected Area 135 as well as the Antarctic Assessment in Australia’s SOE Reports 2011 and 2016 [4-5]. The project was presented as a case study in the 2011 SOE report and is acknowledged in the 2016 report for contributing valuable data to help fulfill Australia’s national reporting requirements under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act. Furthermore, this project contributes to Australia’s international obligations under the Antarctic Treaty System as it delivers robust data on environmental change on one of Australia’s Antarctic Specially Protected Areas”. As such this work is vital for the continued conservation of terrestrial values.   <br /><b><br /></b>

In 2016 I gave a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4PsZlTGedU" title="YouTube: Antarctic Plants In A Time Of Change" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TEDX Antarctic plants in a time of change</a>.<br /><br />In 2017, this was featured in a story on <a href="https://ideas.ted.com/the-extraordinary-antarctic-plants-with-superhero-powers/" title="Featured Story: Extraordinary Antarctic Plants with Superhero Powers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ideas.ted.com.</a>

Under The Antarctic Treaty, Australia and other nations which operate in Antarctica have a responsibility to conserve and protect Antarctica’s unique environment. Through the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, adopted in 1991, the Contracting Parties “commit themselves to the comprehensive protection of the Antarctic environment and dependent and associated ecosystems”. Research undertaken by the University of Wollongong over more than 20 years has had a significant and wide-reaching impact on Australia's environmental, economic, legal and political responsibilities and leadership role in Antarctica.   Monitoring and management: UOW research outcomes have informed Antarctic Environmental Managers on the health of Antarctic terrestrial and near shore ecosystems, highlighting which species may be at risk from climate change or disturbance from Antarctic station activities. I have provided expert advice to AAD Environmental Managers on proposed activities around Antarctic stations and contributed to development of Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA) management plans. While our research has had most application to the Australian Antarctic Territories, methodologies developed have increasingly been of interest to environmental managers from other nations, as we are considered to be developing best practice in this area. As a result, in 2016 I was invited to join the Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR) Antarctic Near-shore and Terrestrial Observing System (ANTOS) Expert Group and to develop an East Antarctic ANTOS node.   UOW researchers Robinson and then HDR student Jane Wasley were invited by Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) Environmental Managers to develop a State of the Environment (SOE) Indicator for Antarctic terrestrial vegetation dynamics. Robinson's group had earlier established the first long-term monitoring sites near the Australian Antarctic Casey Station in 2003, from an initial pilot [1-2]. Robinson, Wasley and Dr Catherine King (AAD) went on to develop, and are the current custodians of, SOE Indicator 72 [3] with UOW the responsible organisation. This is currently the only long-term monitoring system in place for Antarctic terrestrial vegetation on the continent, and informs both the Management Plans for Antarctic Specially Protected Area 135 as well as the Antarctic Assessment in Australia’s SOE Reports 2011 and 2016 [4-5]. The project was presented as a case study in the 2011 SOE report and is acknowledged in the 2016 report for contributing valuable data to help fulfill Australia’s national reporting requirements under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act. Furthermore, this project contributes to Australia’s international obligations under the Antarctic Treaty System as it delivers robust data on environmental change on one of Australia’s Antarctic Specially Protected Areas”. As such this work is vital for the continued conservation of terrestrial values.   <br /><b><br /></b>

In 2016 I gave a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4PsZlTGedU" title="YouTube: Antarctic Plants In A Time Of Change" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TEDX Antarctic plants in a time of change</a>.<br /><br />In 2017, this was featured in a story on <a href="https://ideas.ted.com/the-extraordinary-antarctic-plants-with-superhero-powers/" title="Featured Story: Extraordinary Antarctic Plants with Superhero Powers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ideas.ted.com.</a>