Environmental knowledge exchange in Australia and Oceania: How researchers and practitioners are working together to bring change

There is an expansive and complex landscape of practitioners, researchers and other generators, owners and providers of knowledge working together in Oceania to achieve conservation successes. This chapter draws on case studies from the Pacific Islands, Papua New Guinea, Australia, and New Zealand to demonstrate successful practices that enable knowledge exchange. Evidence-informed and culturally appropriate approaches and models that benefit marine, terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity conservation across Oceania are discussed. Constraints on informed management, with a particular focus on the challenges in integrating western scientific knowledge, Indigenous, experiential, and local knowledges are explored. Finally, the chapter offers some recommendations for improving knowledge exchange to facilitate better environmental decision-making, research and practice.