Sarah Clement

University of Liverpool

I am an environmental social scientist and environmental governance researcher, and I formerly lectured at the University of Liverpool in environmental management and planning. I am now an Associate Professor at the Australian National University. I am still connected to UoL as an honorary senior research fellow, and continue to collaborate with my UK colleagues. My research focuses on environmental governance, especially with respect to rapid environmental and social change. A strong theme throughout my work is how improving governance, as well as planning and policy, can enable better ecological, socio-economic, and democratic outcomes, particularly during periods of rapid environmental and social change. My current research focuses on the role of governance in improving ecosystem management in 'natural', cultural, and peri-urban landscapes. I am particularly interested in the interface between governance and the Anthropocene, especially with respect to issues such as wildfire, biodiversity, and climate change. I examine how governance can help build capacity for dealing with these issues and other major drivers of environmental change. In urban environments, my work focuses on how green infrastructure and nature-based solutions can help address multiple environmental, social, and economic challenges; and how we might mainstream the use of such approaches in policy and planning if they prove to be effective. As the concept of NBS becomes increasingly popular, I am particularly interested to see how it plays out in the governance realm, and whether the promise for more collaboration, participation, co-production, and stakeholder engagement will be realised. I am also very interested in how governance and policy can support more effective risk mitigation and response efforts with respect to natural disasters, especially fire. My current project, an Australian Research Council DECRA fellowship, is called 'Fire and Transformation: Managing capacity for managing Australian Bushfires".