SCU Staff Directory
Professor Caroline Sullivan
BA(London), PGCertEd(Exeter), MSc(Keele), PhD(Keele)
Current Appointment: Adjunct Professor
Organisational Unit: Faculty of Science and Engineering
Email: caroline.sullivan@scu.edu.au
Location: Lismore
Campus: Lismore
Personal Website
Professor Caroline Sullivan is an ecological and environmental economist specialising in water management and policy, climate adaptation and valuation of ecosystem services. Prior to joining the academic staff at SCU, Professor Sullivan worked as a Distinguished Research Fellow at the Oxford University School of Geography and the Environment, where she was based for 2 years, working on adaptive management of large river systems. Previously to this, for 8 years she held the position of Head of Water Policy and Management at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. Wallingford, UK. Prior to that, Dr Sullivan worked as a researcher at Keele University, UK, and for 9 years served as an Education Officer for the Government of Brunei Darussalam, where she was involved in the establishment of the teaching of economics in that country. Originally qualified in Economics and Psychology, she went on to study Economic Development Planning at the masters level, before completing her PhD in Ecological and Environmental Economics, working with indigenous people in Amazonia, on the Valuation of non timber forest products. She has worked in developing countries for over 25 years, both in research and teaching, and has been engaged in the fields of water management and research, economic development, and environmental management for sustainable development. She has lived for over 20 years in various countries in Africa, Latin America, Europe and South East Asia, and has carried out water and forestry project work in over 40 different developing countries. Dr Sullivan currently teaches Environmental and Ecological Economics to undergraduate and post graduate students in SCU's School of Environment, Science and Engineering. She also teaches undergraduate and post graduate courses on Natural Resource Policy, and Environment and Development. She has been external examiner for post-graduates and PhD students from a number of Universities, both in Australia and overseas. Dr Sullivan is currently a member of the Expert Panel on Water and Forests, for the International Union of Forest Research Organisations (IUFRO), and also a fellow of the ANU Centre for Water Economics, Environment and Policy. She is also a member of the SCU Marine Ecology Research Centre and a co-founder of a local river-health advocacy group, 'Richmond Rivers Rescue'. She is one of the founding signatories of the 'Geneva Action on Human Water Security'. Professor Sullivan has a strong record of scientific publications, including in the journal 'Nature', and her current research interests focus on improving water management for both humans and ecosystems. In addition to Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), on which she has worked extensively for several years, she has done considerable work on the development of integrated indices, most notably the Water Poverty Index and the Climate Vulnerability Index. She has also worked for many years on wetlands, flood mitigation, agroforestry, ecosystem values and services, tourism, water economics, transboundary water management, and adaptation to climate change. In addition to her academic work, Dr Sullivan has also carried out consultancies for the World Bank, the African Development Bank, Ausaid, World Vision Australia, the UK Department for International Development, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation, the International Fund for Agriculture and Development and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. She has been technical advisor on the development of water indices to a wide range of other organisations.