
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
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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.
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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.
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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
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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
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
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
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.
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
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.
2012
Journal Article
Foreign investment: failing people and the environment
Lyons, Kristen (2012). Foreign investment: failing people and the environment. Right Now
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor Kristen Lyons is:
- Available for supervision
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Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Gender, Conservation and Natural Resource Management in Solomon Islands
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Hugh Possingham
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Doctor Philosophy
Postapocalyptic environmental practices: the narratives and political possibilities of the Dark Mountain Project
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Heloise Weber
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Doctor Philosophy
Digital and Agricultural Innovation, and Alternative Agriculture Practices in Australia
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Kiah Smith
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Doctor Philosophy
Digital and Agricultural Innovation, and Alternative Agriculture Practices in Australia
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Kiah Smith
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Doctor Philosophy
Breaking the bias: delivering gender equality in conservation
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Hugh Possingham
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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
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Doctor Philosophy
Postapocalyptic environmental practices: the narratives and political possibilities of the Dark Mountain Project
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Heloise Weber
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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
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2025
Doctor Philosophy
Digital and Agricultural Innovation, and Alternative Agriculture Practices in Australia
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Kiah Smith
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2025
Doctor Philosophy
Postapocalyptic environmental practices: the narratives and political possibilities of the Dark Mountain Project
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Heloise Weber
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2019
Doctor Philosophy
Agrarian Transformation in Ghana's Brong Ahafo Region: Drivers and Outcomes
Principal Advisor
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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2024
Master Philosophy
Assessment of Menstrual Health and Hygiene interventions in Rural Kenya
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Nina Lansbury
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2016
Doctor Philosophy
What's Cooking in Paradise? An ethnobotanical investigation of a transitioning food system in Marovo Lagoon, Solomon Islands
Associate Advisor
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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
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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
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