Melanie Hamel

I am a multi-disciplinary conservation scientist with a broad expertise. A key goal of my work is providing a strong evidence base for informing the management of ecosystems in a range of socio-ecological contexts. I use and develop approaches that integrate multi-disciplinary information with a combination of tools such as geographic information systems, participatory mapping, reserve design algorithms, and programming. My past work focused on coastal and marine environments in the South Pacific, but I am now more involved in better understanding Australia's marine and terrestrial ecosystems.

I strive to bridge the gaps between science, policy, and the general public, by working alongside multiple stakeholders such as international, government and non-governmental organisations, local indigenous and non-indigenous communities, and industries. These collaborations, along with effective science communication, ensure my projects have direct impact on the ground. For example, I recently led the IUCN Red List assessment for the subpopulation of Dugongs in New Caledonia in collaboration with local researchers and NGOs, which has directly contributed to actions at the local scale.

Current projects

I co-lead/contribute to several projects within the Marine Megafauna Research Group at TropWATER, including:

- 2024-2025 // The Dugong Connections engagement project. Dugong Connections is reshaping the way scientists and Indigenous Traditional Owners of the Great Barrier Reef collaborate to achieve shared goals for dugongs.
- 2023-2026 // Marine and Coastal Hub, NESP 3.10 'Partnerships and novel technologies for improved dugong research'. 

I also support and contribute to research for:

- 2025-2027 // Resilient Landscapes Hub, NESP 5.1 'Environmental Economic Accounting - Respectful inclusion of First Nations knowledges'.
- 2023-2026 // Project 1.4 Indigenous values mapping and water resource enterprise product identification, a project focused on the Gilbert Catchment, for the Water Security for Northern Australia program (WSNA).
- 2021-2026 // Resilient Landscapes Hub, NESP 1.7 cross-cutting initiative on Australia's threatened and migratory species and threatened ecological communities.

Publications

Google Scholar profile

I acknowledge the Bindal and Wulgurukaba peoples as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands and waters of the Townsville region, where I live and work. I also pay my respects to all Traditional Owners of the lands and waters I visit in the course of my travels.