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Professor Kristen Lyons
Professor

Kristen Lyons

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 336 52020

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

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

174 works between 1995 and 2024

101 - 120 of 174 works

2013

Journal Article

Carbon markets and the failed promise of new green gold: plantation forestry in Uganda

Lyons, Kristen and Westoby, Peter (2013). Carbon markets and the failed promise of new green gold: plantation forestry in Uganda. Chain Reaction (119), 20-21.

Carbon markets and the failed promise of new green gold: plantation forestry in Uganda

2013

Journal Article

Governing organic food exporting: possibilities for democratic engagement and impacts for smallholder farmers

Lyons, Kristen (2013). Governing organic food exporting: possibilities for democratic engagement and impacts for smallholder farmers. International Journal of the Sociology of Agriculture and Food, 20 (3), 335-355.

Governing organic food exporting: possibilities for democratic engagement and impacts for smallholder farmers

2013

Other Outputs

Improving silvicultural and economic outcomes for community timber plantations in Solomon Islands by interplanting with Flueggea flexuosa and other Pacific agroforestry species

Blumfield, Tim, Bacon, Gary, Lyons, Kristen, Walters, Peter and Tutua, Shane (2013). Improving silvicultural and economic outcomes for community timber plantations in Solomon Islands by interplanting with Flueggea flexuosa and other Pacific agroforestry species. Canberra, ACT, Australia: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).

Improving silvicultural and economic outcomes for community timber plantations in Solomon Islands by interplanting with Flueggea flexuosa and other Pacific agroforestry species

2013

Journal Article

Mining universities: can we count on the integrity of research coming out of today's mining-funded tertiary sector?

Lyons, Kristen and Richards, Carol (2013). Mining universities: can we count on the integrity of research coming out of today's mining-funded tertiary sector?. Arena Magazine (124), 7-9.

Mining universities: can we count on the integrity of research coming out of today's mining-funded tertiary sector?

2013

Journal Article

Organic food improving health services in Uganda

Dunstan, Laura and Lyons, Kristen (2013). Organic food improving health services in Uganda. Chain Reaction (117), 15-15.

Organic food improving health services in Uganda

2013

Book Chapter

Nano-functional foods: nanotechnology, nutritional engineering and nutritionally-reductive food marketing

Scrinis, Gyorgy and Lyons, Kristen (2013). Nano-functional foods: nanotechnology, nutritional engineering and nutritionally-reductive food marketing. Innovation in healthy and functional foods. (pp. 547-554) edited by Dilip Ghosh, Shantanu Das, Debasis Bagchi and R. B. Smarta. Boca Raton, FL United States: CRC Press. doi: 10.1201/b13022

Nano-functional foods: nanotechnology, nutritional engineering and nutritionally-reductive food marketing

2013

Book Chapter

Organic agriculture governance in the Global South: new opportunities for participation in agricultural development and livelihood outcomes

Lyons, Kristen, Palanippan, Gomathy and Lockie, Stewart (2013). Organic agriculture governance in the Global South: new opportunities for participation in agricultural development and livelihood outcomes. Organic agriculture for sustainable livelihoods. (pp. 132-152) edited by Niels Halberg and Adrian Muller. Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780203124680

Organic agriculture governance in the Global South: new opportunities for participation in agricultural development and livelihood outcomes

2013

Journal Article

Food security in Australia in an era of neoliberalism, productivism and climate change

Lawrence, Geoffrey, Richards, Carol and Lyons, Kristen (2013). Food security in Australia in an era of neoliberalism, productivism and climate change. Journal of Rural Studies, 29, 30-39. doi: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2011.12.005

Food security in Australia in an era of neoliberalism, productivism and climate change

2013

Other Outputs

Urban food security, urban resilience and climate change

Burton, Paul, Rose, Nicholas, DesFours, Lotus, Pires, Victor, Barclay, Rochelle, Lyons, Kristen, Richards, Carol and Amati, Marco (2013). Urban food security, urban resilience and climate change. Southport, QLD, Australia: National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility.

Urban food security, urban resilience and climate change

2013

Journal Article

Food in the city: urban food movements and the (re)imagining of urban spaces

Kristen Lyons, Carol Richards, Lotus Desfours and Marco Amati (2013). Food in the city: urban food movements and the (re)imagining of urban spaces. Australian Planner, 50 (2), 157-163. doi: 10.1080/07293682.2013.776983

Food in the city: urban food movements and the (re)imagining of urban spaces

2012

Journal Article

Australia's nanotechnology public engagement ineffective and biased

Lyons, Kristen and Whelan, James (2012). Australia's nanotechnology public engagement ineffective and biased. Chain Reaction, 116, 14-15.

Australia's nanotechnology public engagement ineffective and biased

2012

Journal Article

Foreign investment: failing people and the environment

Lyons, Kristen (2012). Foreign investment: failing people and the environment. Right Now

Foreign investment: failing people and the environment

2012

Other Outputs

Agro-forestry and its Social Impacts Social Science Research Final Report - 2012

Lyons, Kristen, Walters, Peter, Riddell, Erin, Burch, David and Boer, Henry (2012). Agro-forestry and its Social Impacts Social Science Research Final Report - 2012. Canberra, ACT, Australia: Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research.

Agro-forestry and its Social Impacts Social Science Research Final Report - 2012

2012

Conference Publication

Reimagining the State in World Agriculture: Observations and Questions

Hawkes, S., Lyons, K. and Lawrence, G. (2012). Reimagining the State in World Agriculture: Observations and Questions. Annual Conference of the Australian Sociological Association, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 26-29 November 2012.

Reimagining the State in World Agriculture: Observations and Questions

2012

Book Chapter

Negotiating organic, fair and ethical trade: Lessons from smallholders in Uganda and Kenya

Smith, Kiah and Lyons, Kristen (2012). Negotiating organic, fair and ethical trade: Lessons from smallholders in Uganda and Kenya. Food systems failure: The global food crisis and the future of agriculture. (pp. 182-202) edited by Christopher Rosin, Paul Stock and Hugh Campbell. London, United Kingdom: Earthscan.

Negotiating organic, fair and ethical trade: Lessons from smallholders in Uganda and Kenya

2011

Conference Publication

Is Australia Food Secure?

Lawrence, G., Richards, C., Burch, D. and Lyons, K. (2011). Is Australia Food Secure?. XVIII Conference of the Australasian Agri-food Network, Canberra, ACT Australia, 6-9 December 2011.

Is Australia Food Secure?

2011

Conference Publication

Financialisation: Is this a Useful Concept in Understanding Contemporary Developments in the Agri-food System?

Burch, D., Lawrence, G., Lyons, K. and Richards, C. (2011). Financialisation: Is this a Useful Concept in Understanding Contemporary Developments in the Agri-food System?. XVIII Australasian Agri-food Research Network Conference, Canberra, ACT Australia, 6-9 December 2011.

Financialisation: Is this a Useful Concept in Understanding Contemporary Developments in the Agri-food System?

2011

Book Chapter

Nanotechnology, agriculture, and food

Lyons, Kristen, Scrinis, Gyorgy and Whelan, James (2011). Nanotechnology, agriculture, and food. Nanotechnology and global sustainability. (pp. 117-140) edited by Donald Maclurcan and Natalia Radywyl. London, United Kingdom: CRC Press.

Nanotechnology, agriculture, and food

2011

Conference Publication

Food security: emerging challenges for Australia

Lawrence, G., Richards, C., Burch, D. and Lyons, K. (2011). Food security: emerging challenges for Australia. XXIV European Congress of Rural Sociology, Chania, Crete, 22-25 August 2011.

Food security: emerging challenges for Australia

2011

Book Chapter

Nanotechnology and the techno-corporate agri-food paradigm

Scrinis, Gyorgy and Lyons, Kristen (2011). Nanotechnology and the techno-corporate agri-food paradigm. Food security, nutrition and sustainability. (pp. 252-270) edited by Geoffrey Lawrence, Kristen Lyons and Tabatha Wallington. London, United Kingdom: Earthscan. doi: 10.4324/9781849774499

Nanotechnology and the techno-corporate agri-food paradigm

Funding

Past funding

  • 2023 - 2024
    Building Climate-Resilient Agri-Food Futures: Reducing Emissions and Improving FoodSecurity Through Agroecology (Monash administered Australia Awards Fellowship)
    Open grant
  • 2020 - 2023
    Centring Community-based planning and participation alongside low carbon transition: a global south-north comparative study
    UQ-FAPESP Strategic Research Fund SPRINT
    Open grant
  • 2016 - 2020
    ''We are the people from that land'': Beyond big coal by centering Indigenous peoples' rights in the transition to a sustainable low carbon future (GCI Flagships)
    Research Donation Generic
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2017
    Enhancing Economic Opportunities offered by Community and Smallholder Forestry in Solomon Islands (ACIAR Project Administered by Griffith University)
    Griffith University
    Open grant
  • 2012
    UQ Category 2 Travel Award - Kristen Lyons
    UQ Travel Awards for International Collaborative Research (Category 2)
    Open grant
  • 2011 - 2012
    Urban food security, urban resilience and climate change (administered by Griffith University)
    Griffith University
    Open grant
  • 2011 - 2015
    The New Farm Owners: Finance Companies and the Restructuring of Australian and Global Agriculture
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2011 - 2012
    The politics of food security in a global age: Community impacts and responses to biofuel production in Ghana, West Africa
    UQ New Staff Research Start-Up Fund
    Open grant

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

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:

communications@uq.edu.au