Challenges to changing populations, food systems and water supply

Australia’s primary industries face a range of interconnected challenges, including climate adaptation, biosecurity, biodiversity, transport, regulation and equitable water supply. Agriculture, forestry, fisheries and water resources are national priorities, and are therefore areas where ANU brings immense expertise across plant sciences, environmental sciences, policy, social sciences, law and Indigenous studies.

ICEDS

 

The Institute for Climate, Energy & Disaster Solutions (ICEDS) connects people with climate, energy & disaster-risk research from The Australian National University.

Agrifood Institute

 

Agrifood Institute was established in July 2018 as a joint initiative between the ANU and CSIRO, with support and funding from the ACT Government.

Institute for Water Futures (IWF)

 

The Institute for Water Futures (IWF) leads research to understand change and enable action in Australia and beyond.

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‘Canary in the coal mine’: Superb fairy-wrens in Canberra could go extinct within 30 years

Superb fairy-wrens are facing “imminent danger” and a well-studied population in Canberra could go extinct in the next 30 years if we don’t urgently curb greenhouse gas emissions, warn an international team of scientists including researchers from The Australian National University (ANU), James Cook University (JCU) and Hainan University.

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Australia’s environment is improving but climate change is ‘accelerating’ damage to ecosystems and wildlife

Australia’s environment experienced above average conditions for the fifth consecutive year in 2025, but climate change continues to inflict “serious and accelerating damage” on marine ecosystems while driving more species toward extinction, according to the 2025 Australia’s Environment Report, led by The Australian National University (ANU) in collaboration with TERN.

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Three new rock monitor lizard species discovered in northern Queensland

Three striking new species of rock-dwelling monitor lizards have been formally described from the savannas of north-eastern Queensland, revealing a previously unrecognised evolutionary lineage.

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Water cycle instability drove global water-related disasters in 2025

Ongoing shifts in the global water cycle amplified floods, droughts and heat extremes in 2025, according to a new report involving an international team of researchers, led by The Australian National University (ANU).

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New data reveals how Australia’s threatened reptiles and frogs are disappearing – and what we have to do

Australia is home to extraordinary reptiles and frogs, from giant lace monitors to tiny alpine froglets. Over 1,100 reptiles and 250 frog species are found across the Australian continent and islands. But we are losing them.

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