Ariane Gienger

I am a human geographer and political ecologist working as a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Geography, Environment and Population. My research centres on environmental governance, with a particular interest in in the interconnection of ecological and political crises and their solutions, and the importance of knowledge diversity in this space.Across my work, I investigate how governance systems can facilitate genuine collaboration by asking fundamental questions about decision-making: who is invited to the table, what decisions are made there, and whose tables are chosen in the first place. I examine how different actors are enabled or constraint in shaping decisions that affect their lives, communities and regions, and how administrative structures and processes can create or limit opportunities for meaningful engagement. I am also interested in innovative approaches to environmental governance that recognise more-than-human agency and to environmental education that foster reflexivity and an openness to the validity of diverse knowledge systems. 
 
My current research contributes to two major projects: one within the One Basin CRC, exploring future governance models for water-limited communities in the Murray-Darling Basin, and one within an ARC Future Fellowship, investigating knowledge-into-policy pathways in the Lake Eyre Basin.Prior to this, I completed my PhD in human geography, which was acknowledged with a Dean’s Commendation and a University Research Medal for its contribution to the field, and have worked across a range of projects in community-based conservation, climate change adaptation, eco-anxiety and environmental education. Through my work, I aim to contribute to sustainability scholarship, policy and practice by advancing more socially and environmentally just forms of governance.