ResearchersJustin Watson

Justin Watson

BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD

Adjunct Research Fellow

Dr Justin Watson, an ecologist from Brisbane, grew up at Port Elizabeth on the south east coast of South Africa. As a 10 year old child he would take his father’s binoculars and sit on the roof of his home, bird-watching. Still a keen bird-watcher today, Justin began his undergraduate studies, a Bachelor of Science in Zoology and Botany, at the then University of Port Elizabeth in 1987. His honours project was in zoology and looked at the fruit selection in fruit eating birds. His Masters degree, which he started as a research exercise, was on the impacts of off-road vehicles on coastal breeding birds.

“It grew into quite a big project and I became involved in the Oyster Catcher Conservation Program throughout South Africa,” says Justin. “At the time [early to mid 90s] there were no controls on beach access whatsoever. It was exciting times. We had bands of volunteers collecting data from various beaches for many years. For the first time we had real scientific data to show where you had birds, 4WDs and dogs, the results were not good. Effectively it led to legislation in South Africa which banned all 4WDs on beaches.” Similar concerns about the impacts of 4WDs on beaches along the coast of Queensland and NSW are now being raised by conservationists and scientists in Australia and Justin is keen to get involved in that argument.

Justin did his PhD (in botany/zoology) on ecosystem functioning and then restoration. It followed on from an Environmental Impact Statement that Justin did for a mining company that were putting in an open-cut mine, mining limestone for cement. “While doing that and living in a caravan in the back of nowhere, I looked around and could see years of research ahead on how the landscape could be rehabilitated,” says Justin who also worked as a consultant, lecturer and environmental educator while doing his PhD.

In 1999, after attending the International Rangeland Conference in Townsville, Queensland, Justin decided to move to Australia. He arrived early 2000 and his family a little later. Initially Justin worked as a consultant in the mining industry in NSW. However, wanting to do more “hands on ecology work” he went to a smaller company and ran the Queensland office for a couple of years. For the last six years he has been working for the same company (now called Conics) where he is director of the environmental branch.  The company employs more than 600 staff and specialises in the services of infrastructure, urban growth and the environment. Justin is now a senior partner and principal ecologist in the company which has more than 30 environmental staff. “I’ve been quite fortunate and been able to develop a bit of a specialist area in the ecological field and do a lot of work for local councils as the person who argues in court as an expert witness,” says Justin. “I try to get a ‘balanced’ outcome for both the project and the environment.”

Justin was introduced to becoming an Institute adjunct by ILWS member A/Prof David Watson as the two are council members of Birds Australia. Justin, who became an adjunct in 2008,  is hoping it will give him the opportunity to co-supervise students (which he has done in the past), become involved in a research project or two, and, “meet with like-minded people.”  He has already done one research report in his capacity as an ILWS adjunct. That came about, initially, from work he was doing for his company in the Torres Strait Islands. There he met an anthropologist from Melbourne University who was asked to do a management plan for one of the small islands – Mabuyag, (pop. less than 300), so it could be recognised as an Indigenous Protected Area.

Justin, who took leave in April 2009 to do the necessary research, was the zoologist on the expedition that included a geologist, archaeologist, anthropologist and botanist. As well as the management plan document, the team also intend to produce a special volume for the journal Memoirs of the Queensland Museum, dedicated to the island and its community. Justin says the island is the first in the Torres Straits Islands to introduce a ranger program with staff dedicated to looking after environmental and cultural assets. “I’d like to see if I can get funding to do some more environmental education work with the rangers and zoological work,” says Justin. “Very little has been done on these islands because it is difficult to get to them and you need to know the right people to gain access.” Working as he does in the business world, Justin says more involvement in research would give him the “balance” he is looking for.

“If I could get enough funding to so a small research project each year, that would be great,” says Justin. “That would be my holiday every year. But I enjoy the consulting and being in a position to help with decisions on environmental management.  There’s a lot of good scientists and ideas but to bridge the gap between the scientists, and the government, and the land managers, to take the academic knowledge to what we can use everyday is always a bit tricky ……. but I enjoy that challenge.”