ResearchOnline@JCU This file is part of the following work: Hernandez, Stephanie (2020) A transdisciplinary evaluation of forest retention policies and practices in the Australian context. PhD Thesis, James Cook University. Access to this file is available from: https://doi.org/10.25903/BT5M%2D7613 Copyright © 2020 Stephanie Hernandez. The author has certified to JCU that they have made a reasonable effort to gain permission and acknowledge the owners of any third party copyright material included in this document. If you believe that this is not the case, please email [email protected] A transdisciplinary evaluation of forest retention policies and practices in the Australian context PhD Thesis submitted by Stephanie Hernandez, MSc June 2020 For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy College of Science and Engineering James Cook University Townsville, Queensland 4811 Australia Statement of access I, the undersigned, author of this work understand that James Cook University will make this thesis available for use within the University Library via the Australian Thesis Network or by any other means to allow access to users in other approved libraries. I understand that as an unpublished work, a thesis has significant protection under the Copyright Act and beyond this; I do not wish to place any restriction to access on this thesis. Statement of Sources Declaration I declare that this thesis is my work and has not been submitted in any form for another degree or diploma at any university or other institution of tertiary education. Information derived from the published or unpublished work of others has been duly acknowledged in the text, and a list of references is given. Every reasonable effort has been made to obtain permission and acknowledge the owners of copyright material. I would be pleased to hear from any copyright owner who has been omitted or incorrectly acknowledged. Signature, Stephanie Hernandez ii Internal supervisory committee - Dr Stephaine Duce - Dr Claudia Benham - Professor Marcus Sheaves Industry supervisory committee - Mr Peter Johnson - Dr Linda Lee - Mr Brad Ellis External supervisory committee - Dr Vanessa Adams Other editorial support - Dr Megan Barnes - Dr Megan Evans iii Outputs related to this thesis Papers in review Hernandez, S Sheaves, M., Benham, C., Miller, R., Duce, S. 2020 "What drives protected area establishment? Themes and trends from the last 27 years of Australian protected area policies." Conservation Biology1 Hernandez, S Barnes, M., Adams, VM., Duce, S. 2020 "Do protected areas prevent deforestation in a global deforestation hotspot?" Scientific Reports2 Papers in preparation Hernandez, S Sheaves, M. Murray, N. Adams, VM, Duce, S. 2020 "The use of ex-ante evaluation to identify priority areas for conservation." Conservation Biology3 Conference Presentations and Speaking Hernandez S. (2019, July) "Do protected areas prevent deforestation in a global deforestation hotspot?" Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation. Antananarivo, Madagascar Hernandez, S. (2019, May) "How can publicly available data be used to inform decision- making?" Pint of Science. Townsville, Australia Hernandez, S. (2018, July) "Do protected areas prevent deforestation in a global deforestation hotspot?" Society for Conservation Biology -Oceania. Wellington, New Zealand Hernandez, S. (2017, May) "What is impact evaluation?" Pint of Science. Townsville, Australia Hernandez, S. (2016, November) "How does policy affect vegetation? A case study from Queensland." James Cook University Postgraduate Research Conference. Townsville, Australia. Hernandez, S. (2016, Oct) "How does policy affect vegetation? A case study from Queensland." Symposium for the Environmental Institute of Australia and New Zealand (EIANZ). Townsville, Australia 1 Chapter 2 2 Chapter 3 3 Chapter 5 iv Other outputs generated during PhD candidature Technical reports Pintor, AM, Kennard, MK, Hernandez, S. 2019 "A user guide for data created under the Northern Environmental Science Program Project 3.3." Report prepared for the Northern Environmental Science Program (NESP) Pintor, AM, Kennard, MK, Hernandez, S. 2019 "Northern Environmental Science Program Project 3.3 Progress Report" Report prepared for the Northern Environmental Science Program (NESP) Hernandez S. 2019 "Species distribution models for 9,565 native plants in Queensland" Internal Report for the Department of Environment and Science. Hernandez, S. 2018 "Spatially explicit vulnerability models for 143 vertebrate species in Queensland." Internal Report for the Department of Environment and Science. Dyer, M., Newlands, M., Hernandez, S. “What is stewardship in the Great Barrier Reef?” Internal Report for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Papers in preparation Sheaves, M., Mattone, C., Connely, R., Hernandez, S. Nagelkerken, I., Murray, N., Ronan, M., Waltham, N., Bradley, M 2020 "Constraint mapping: Understanding outcome-limiting bottlenecks to enable improved environmental decision-making in Marine and Coastal Environments." Fish and Fisheries Sheaves, M. Hernandez, S. Lennard, C., Mattone, C., Waltham, N., 2020 "Monitoring and Assessment of Marine Renewable for Responsive Environmental Outcomes: Goals, Strategies and Solutions." International Journal of Marine Energy Pintor, AM. Kennard, M. Romero-Alverez, J. Hernandez, S., Reside, A. 2020 "Expert elicitation data for species' sensitivity to threatening processes." Nature Data Dyer, M., Newlands MN., Hernandez., S., Bradshaw, E. "Stewardship in the Great Barrier Reef" (2020) Marine Policy v Scholarships Department of Environment and Heritage Protection Scholarship AUD 100,000 James Cook University: Competitive Research Training Grant AUD 2,750 Student grant from Professor Jeremy VanDerWal AUD 3,000 Wentworth Group - Union of Concerned Scientists AUD 2,500 James Cook University - Research Training Program AUD 14,046 National Environmental Science Program (NESP) Northern Scholarship AUD 6,000 vi Acknowledgements I would like to express my uncontainable gratitude to my supervisors Stephanie Duce (primary), Claudia Benham (secondary), Marcus Sheaves (mentor) and Vanessa Adams for their invaluable input, guidance and support. You have been a source of inspiration and a well of kindness providing support which was above and beyond your requirements, and I am deeply thankful. Vanessa, you've been with me since I was a starry-eyed MSc student, and, over the many years, you have always been unendingly generous with your time, thorough in your feedback and inspiringly insightful. I owe you more than I can ever repay. Claudia, I so admire your strength and the sheer depth of your capabilities. I have really enjoyed learning from you. Marcus, you may well be one of the busiest people I know, but you adopted me into your group, and I will be forever thankful. I have benefited enormously from your good humour and quick wit - I've never had a problem you couldn't solve. A very special thank you to Stephanie Duce, who has been a magnificent primary supervisor and an unending source of knowledge, enthusiasm and mentorship. Always quick to respond to texts, emails and drafts, you helped me gain confidence and insight when I would have otherwise given up. Thank you for taking me on and helping me to tackle the many problems I faced during my project. I am very grateful for your exceptional supervision and the generosity you have shown me. Peter Johnson, Brad Ellis and Linda Lee - your friendship, mentorship and wisdom have fostered my growth professionally and personally. I am fortunate to have had such an incredible team of industry supervisors and could not have completed this project without your consistent support and substantial contributions. I am unendingly grateful for our many conservations. I wouldn't have made it without you. Thank you to my close collaborators: Anna Pintor, Erin Graham, Mark Kennard, Jeremy VanDerWal and Jorge Alverez-Romero. I am truly indebted to you for the sanity-keeping coffees and for your perpetual willingness to provide guidance and advice. Your friendship and collegiate commitment to discovery have made a lasting impression on me. To my Kal, you are my foundation. I would have cracked long ago without your unwavering support and kindness. Thank you for reading my drafts, for the many 3 am analytical discussions with me because I couldn't sleep, for feeding me and for being a perpetual oasis of joy and love. Some of the happiest moments of my life have been our experiences together. An enormous thank you to my family, Becky Land and Allison Wenning, colleagues and friends for your support and encouragement. Thank you to my fantastic adventure friends Katie, Madoc and Aline for the many outdoor exploring adventures. These little escapes made coming back to work on Monday much more agreeable. And to my office/lab mates – thank you for the happy and productive environment. It's been a true joy sharing time and space with you! To Shelley and Dan Christie, I can't understate what your support and friendship have meant throughout my PhD. You have been both mentors, beautiful friends and a constant source of positivity and encouragement. Thanks for being my soul-sister, Shell. To Andrew Norton and others at JCUs IT services, vii I can't thank you enough for all your quick and thorough technical support during my many tear-filled crises. Additional thanks to James Cook University for institutional and administrative support and to Dr Wayne Mallet for managing the High-Performance Computer Infrastructure.