
Overview
Background
Professor Kristen Lyons is a public intellectual with over twenty years experience in research, teaching and service that delivers national and international impacts on issues that sit at the intersection of sustainability and development, as well as the future of higher education. Trained as a sociologist, Kristen is comfortable working in transdisciplinary teams to deliver socially just outcomes, including for some of the world's most vulnerable communities. Kristen works regularly in Uganda, Solomon Islands and Australia, and her work is grounded in a rights-based approach. In practice, this means centring the rights and interests of local communities, including Indigenous peoples, in her approach to research design, collaboration, and impacts and outcomes. Kristen is also a Senior Research Fellow with the Oakland Institute.
Availability
- Professor Kristen Lyons is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Science, Griffith University
- Bachelor (Honours) of Science (Advanced), Griffith University
- Doctor of Philosophy, Central Queensland University
Research interests
-
Climate Change and Human Rights
Responses to climate change deliver significant impacts at the local level. I lead cross country research that examines the impacts of carbon trading initiatives - one response to climate change - for local communities.
-
Transdisciplinary and Indigenous Rights
I am engaged in research that examines the social, legal and policy frameworks to support Australia to meet its Indigenous rights obligations, especially in the context of a climate changing world.
-
Transforming Universities for the Public Good
Today’s university system is increasingly market driven, with institutional requirements that constrain options for public good research and learning. This system stands at odds with the primary and historical role of universities. Higher education movements – including free universities, progressive colleges and civic forums – offer important critical alternatives to this current system. I am engaged in research to analyse a selection of movements, delivering outcomes that will increase knowledge of how alliances and campaigns organise, what their change agenda entails, and how they are transforming universities for the public good.
Research impacts
My recognised role as public intellectual enhances my national and international academic, policy and industry impacts on issues related to the environment, development and human rights. Over the last five years I have led research teams to deliver socially just outcomes for some of the world's most vulnerable communities. For example, I have led research to identify human rights abuses that underpin international carbon offset projects in Uganda. The outcome of this has changed practices of one of the worlds largest plantation forestry and carbon offset companies, and shaped public debates related to global carbon trade projects. Collaborative research with Traditional Owners in Australia has also also delivered outcomes that have impacted public and policy understandings of Australia's indigenous rights obligations in the context of resource development.
To maximise research impact, I regularly work with funding bodies that support collaborative engagement with key partners, and build enduring relations between academic, industry and community groups.
In my role as advisor on a number of government advisory bodies, I have played a part in changing guidelines and policies related to emerging technologies. I was part of a team that provided recommendations to the Department of Industry Science and Resources to ensure Australia's compliance with international organic agriculture and food standards, with outcomes that ensure Australia maintains international market access.
I am committed to publishing broadly in non academic outlets, including in The Conversation (over 126,000 readers, and ranked #3 at UQ in 2018), ABC, New Matilda), and my research regularly features in international and national media.
Works
Search Professor Kristen Lyons’s works on UQ eSpace
2022
Journal Article
Gender and conservation science: men continue to out‐publish women at the world's largest environmental conservation non‐profit organization
James, Robyn, Ariunbaatar, Javkhlan, Bresnahan, Meaghan, Carlos‐Grotjahn, Chelsea, Fisher, Jonathan R. B., Gibbs, Bridget, Hausheer, Justine E., Nakozoete, Cynthia, Nomura, Sarah‐Kate, Possingham, Hugh and Lyons, Kristen (2022). Gender and conservation science: men continue to out‐publish women at the world's largest environmental conservation non‐profit organization. Conservation Science and Practice, 4 (8) e12748. doi: 10.1111/csp2.12748
2022
Other Outputs
6 Books about the climate crisis that offer hope, recommended by experts
RItchie, E. , O'Donnell, E. , Moore, G., Lyons, K. , Christoff, P. and Kaufman, S. (2022, 05 18). 6 Books about the climate crisis that offer hope, recommended by experts The Conversation
2022
Book Chapter
Not seeing the forest for the trees: how plantation forestry for carbon offset fails people and the climate
Lyons, Kristen and Ssemwogerere, David (2022). Not seeing the forest for the trees: how plantation forestry for carbon offset fails people and the climate. Offsetted. (pp. 110-115) edited by Cooking Sections and Jesse Connuck. Berlin, Germany: Hatje Cantz.
2022
Other Outputs
A gutful of lunchbox hype – has selling ‘good bugs not drugs’ for kids’ health gone too far?
Mayes, Christopher, Leahy, Deana and Lyons, Kristen (2022, 02 09). A gutful of lunchbox hype – has selling ‘good bugs not drugs’ for kids’ health gone too far? The Conversation
2022
Book
Transforming universities in the midst of global crisis: a university for the common good
Hil, Richard, Lyons, Kristen and Thompsett, Fern (2022). Transforming universities in the midst of global crisis: a university for the common good. Abingdon, Oxon United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003021117
2021
Other Outputs
Amid global crisis, how can universities be regenerated to serve the common good?
Lyons, Kristen, Thompsett, Fern and Hil, Richard (2021, 12 17). Amid global crisis, how can universities be regenerated to serve the common good? The Conversation
2021
Other Outputs
Indigenous knowledge systems are vital to the design of solutions to climate change - so why are Indigenous voices so rarely included in deliberations?
Rashidi, Pedram , Lyons, Kristen and Walker, K. J. (2021, 11 15). Indigenous knowledge systems are vital to the design of solutions to climate change - so why are Indigenous voices so rarely included in deliberations?
2021
Journal Article
Nano white food and the reproduction of whiteness. Impacts for Indigenous health and relationships with food
Lyons, Kristen, Fredericks, Bronwyn, Bradfield, Abraham, Mayes, Christopher and Koerner, Catherine (2021). Nano white food and the reproduction of whiteness. Impacts for Indigenous health and relationships with food. Borderlands, 20 (1), 207-235. doi: 10.21307/borderlands-2021-008
2021
Journal Article
Democratizing global climate governance? The case of indigenous representation in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Rashidi, Pedram and Lyons, Kristen (2021). Democratizing global climate governance? The case of indigenous representation in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Globalizations, 20 (8), 1-16. doi: 10.1080/14747731.2021.1979718
2021
Other Outputs
Global demand for cashews is booming. How Ghana can take advantage to create jobs
Boafo, James and Lyons, Kristen (2021, 09 20). Global demand for cashews is booming. How Ghana can take advantage to create jobs The Conversation
2021
Journal Article
Ghana's farmers aren't all seeing the fruits of a Green Revolution
Boafo, James and Lyons, Kristen (2021, 06 15). Ghana's farmers aren't all seeing the fruits of a Green Revolution The Conversation
2021
Journal Article
Security for the big polluters: plantation forestry for carbon offset delays action on climate
Lyons, Kristen (2021). Security for the big polluters: plantation forestry for carbon offset delays action on climate. Green Agenda, Autumn.
2021
Other Outputs
Universities' relevance hinges on academic freedom
Lyons, Kristen (2021, 06 03). Universities' relevance hinges on academic freedom The Conversation
2021
Journal Article
The rhetoric and farmers' lived realities of the Green Revolution in Africa: case study of the Brong Ahafo region in Ghana
Boafo, James and Lyons, Kristen (2021). The rhetoric and farmers' lived realities of the Green Revolution in Africa: case study of the Brong Ahafo region in Ghana. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 57 (3), 002190962110190-423. doi: 10.1177/00219096211019063
2021
Journal Article
Academic freedom's precarious future. Why it matters and what's at stake
Lyons, Kristen (2021). Academic freedom's precarious future. Why it matters and what's at stake. Australian Universities' Review , 63 (1), 4-7.
2021
Journal Article
Over the horizon: Is there an alternative to neoliberal university governance?
Hil, Richard, Thompsett, Fern and Lyons, Kristen (2021). Over the horizon: Is there an alternative to neoliberal university governance?. Social Alternatives, 41 (1), 63-69.
2021
Journal Article
The pangolin and the coal mine: challenging the forces of extractivism, human rights abuse, and planetary calamity
Lyons, Kristen, Esposito, Anthony and Johnson, Murrawah (2021). The pangolin and the coal mine: challenging the forces of extractivism, human rights abuse, and planetary calamity. Antipode: Intervention.
2021
Journal Article
Letter from the guest editor
Lyons, Kristen (2021). Letter from the guest editor. Australian Universities Review, 63 (1).
2021
Book Chapter
Policy and planning responses to climate change in Solomon Islands: a place for forest-based carbon offset initiatives in building just and resilient territories?
Lyons, Kristen and Walters, Peter (2021). Policy and planning responses to climate change in Solomon Islands: a place for forest-based carbon offset initiatives in building just and resilient territories?. Towards a just climate change resilience: developing resilient, anticipatory and inclusive communities response. (pp. 47-64) edited by Pedro Henrique Campello Torres and Pedro Roberto Jacobi. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan . doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-81622-3_4
2020
Journal Article
Education for a vocation or society ? The dialectic of modern and customary epistemologies in Solomon Islands
Walters, Peter, Benavides, Adrian and Lyons, Kristen (2020). Education for a vocation or society ? The dialectic of modern and customary epistemologies in Solomon Islands. Pacific Dynamics: Journal of Interdisciplinary Research, 4 (1), 1-16. doi: 10.18124/hgmr-7603
Funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor Kristen Lyons is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
Gender, Conservation and Natural Resource Management in Solomon Islands
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Hugh Possingham
-
Doctor Philosophy
Postapocalyptic environmental practices: the narratives and political possibilities of the Dark Mountain Project
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Heloise Weber
-
Doctor Philosophy
Digital and Agricultural Innovation, and Alternative Agriculture Practices in Australia
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Kiah Smith
-
Doctor Philosophy
Digital and Agricultural Innovation, and Alternative Agriculture Practices in Australia
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Kiah Smith
-
Doctor Philosophy
Breaking the bias: delivering gender equality in conservation
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Hugh Possingham
-
Doctor Philosophy
Political and Environmental Contributions of Agro-Forestry and Permaculture to Build Resilience to Climate Change
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Sonia Roitman
-
Doctor Philosophy
Postapocalyptic environmental practices: the narratives and political possibilities of the Dark Mountain Project
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Heloise Weber
-
Doctor Philosophy
Green extractivism, environmental justice and Indigenous Rights: The case of lithium mining in Chile
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Sally Babidge
Completed supervision
-
2025
Doctor Philosophy
Digital and Agricultural Innovation, and Alternative Agriculture Practices in Australia
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Kiah Smith
-
2025
Doctor Philosophy
Postapocalyptic environmental practices: the narratives and political possibilities of the Dark Mountain Project
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Heloise Weber
-
2019
Doctor Philosophy
Agrarian Transformation in Ghana's Brong Ahafo Region: Drivers and Outcomes
Principal Advisor
-
2018
Master Philosophy
What is food in the food regime?: Remaking food and markets in a time of crisis
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Emeritus Professor Geoffrey Lawrence
-
2018
Doctor Philosophy
Social impact assessment, social justice and scales of knowledge: exploring the emerging mining industry in Solomon Islands
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Simon Albert, Professor Karen McNamara
-
2016
Doctor Philosophy
Food sovereignty: alternative policy for a sustainable national food system in Timor-Leste under climate change
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Peter Walters
-
2015
Doctor Philosophy
An Island of Success in a Sea of Failure? The MDGs and Sauri Millennium Village in Kenya
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Adjunct Professor Adil Khan
-
2014
Doctor Philosophy
Resonance of the land grabbing frame in Mali, West Africa: A social movements and political ecology perspective
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Emeritus Professor Geoffrey Lawrence
-
-
2024
Master Philosophy
Assessment of Menstrual Health and Hygiene interventions in Rural Kenya
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Nina Lansbury
-
2016
Doctor Philosophy
What's Cooking in Paradise? An ethnobotanical investigation of a transitioning food system in Marovo Lagoon, Solomon Islands
Associate Advisor
-
2014
Doctor Philosophy
Governance and Development Planning: A Case Study of Urban Low Cost Housing in Sarawak, Malaysia
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Adjunct Professor Adil Khan, Associate Professor Peter Walters
-
2011
Doctor Philosophy
Contesting 'ethicality': Ethical trade, gender and sustainable livelihoods for smallholder farmers in Kenya
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Emeritus Professor Geoffrey Lawrence
Media
Enquiries
Contact Professor Kristen Lyons directly for media enquiries about:
- carbon markets and human rights
- development and environment
- East Africa
- nanotechnology in food and agriculture
- privatised university
- Solomon Islands and logging
Need help?
For help with finding experts, story ideas and media enquiries, contact our Media team: