I am an Associate Professor of Conservation Science and an ARC Future Fellow in the School of Biological Sciences at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. My research relates to the integration of science into environmental management decisions. In particular I’m interested in the types of evidence decision-makers use to inform their decisions and why, the consequences of poor uptake of science on management decisions. I also develop decision support tools to facilitate knowledge exchange, including tools for evidence synthesis and tools that help link monitoring data to management action. Much of my research is focused on area-based conservation, including both protected and conserved areas. I am interested in the effective design and management of marine and terrestrial protected areas, as well as privately protected areas. And I am exploring how conserved areas can be used to create integrated conservation landscapes and seascapes.
I am a member of the Expert Assessment Group for the IUCN Green List of Protected Areas. I am also a founding member of the Centre for Evidence Informed Policy and Practice, which promotes the advancement of evidence-based decision making through research, methodological development, application and training.
Some of my key research interests centre on developing decision triggers as a tool for integrating monitoring data and management action, integrating evolutionary theory into conservation management and improving the effectiveness of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs).
I collaborate widely with conservation management agencies and non-government organisations. My research program is highly interdisciplinary and I have a keen interesting in understanding what conservation can learn from other disciplines in order to become more effective.
I completed my PhD in Environmental Management at the University of Queensland in 2010, where my research was focused on developing and improving systems to evaluate the effectiveness of protected area management, working with conservation management agencies across Australia.
Carly Cook's Research 