Accessing environmental research needs across three communities in the Torres Strait

Having locals identify environmental research needs for their own community is a key step to ensuring that research is relevant, appropriate and desirable for communities. Communities of the Torres Strait are no exception to this and three island communities in particular are the focus of a research project funded by the Australian Government’s Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility (MTSRF) Transition Program. This factsheet summarises the results of a study on environmental research needs in a number of Torres Strait communities, which also involved staff of the Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA) Land and Sea Management Unit (LSMU). The core aim of this project was to attempt to ensure that knowledge generated from future applied research arrangements is appropriate and useful for end-users throughout the Torres Strait. These end-users for future research include government agencies such as the TSRA, leaders and representatives (such as island councillors, island managers and Prescribed Body Corporate members), elders, and locals living in the communities where research is being conducted.