Overview
Background
Karen is a Professor of Development Geography in the School of the Environment and an ARC Industry Laureate Fellow (2026–2031). Her work examines how people experience and respond to the intersecting challenges of climate change, disaster risk, poverty, and displacement. Over the past two decades, she has led long-term, collaborative research partnerships across the Asia-Pacific, working with governments, NGOs, and local communities to understand lived experiences of vulnerability, resilience, and adaptation.
Karen’s research has included supporting farming communities in Aceh rebuilding after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami; examining the experiences of newly settled migrants in Dhaka displaced by erosion and flooding; partnering with Torres Strait Elders to record traditional environmental knowledge; and documenting everyday climate impacts and adaptation stories across rural Pacific Island communities.
She has led a series of major research projects, including an ARC Future Fellowship, and has served in advisory roles for national governments and international organisations. She currently sits on the Expert Group on Non‑Economic Losses under the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage (UNFCCC), contributing her expertise on climate-related impacts and social equity.
Karen grew up in Quirindi on Kamilaroi Country in NSW. Her rural upbringing fostered a deep commitment to research that is grounded, community-focused, and centred on supporting more just and resilient futures.
Availability
- Professor Karen McNamara is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Environmental Science, University of New South Wales
- Doctor of Philosophy, University of New South Wales
Research impacts
Karen’s research has influenced climate change policy, adaptation planning, and community resilience initiatives across the Asia-Pacific. Through more than 30 research and capacity‑building grants totalling over $11.5 million, her work has generated new evidence, frameworks, and practical tools now used by governments, NGOs, regional bodies, and international organisations.
Her pioneering work on non‑economic loss and damage, developed through an ARC Future Fellowship, produced the first conceptualisation of loss and damage grounded in Pacific perspectives. This work has been used by island governments, NGOs, and Pacific regional institutions to shape policy submissions and negotiations under the UNFCCC.
Her research on climate‑related human rights violations has informed advocacy and international legal processes led by the Government of Vanuatu, while her work with UN Women has guided gender-responsive recovery programming in disaster‑affected communities. Through an ARC Linkage project, she helped identify optimisation points for adaptation outcomes, now informing how agencies design and evaluate adaptation investments.
Karen’s current ARC Industry Laureate Fellowship (2026–2031) deepens these contributions by working with frontline communities across the Pacific, DFAT, and regional partners to co-develop new approaches to climate‑driven non‑economic losses. This fellowship aims to reshape how Australia and the region understand, measure, and respond to the emotional, cultural, spiritual, and relational dimensions of climate change.
Works
Search Professor Karen McNamara’s works on UQ eSpace
2010
Journal Article
A typology of solo independent women travellers
McNamara, Karen Elizabeth and Prideaux, Bruce (2010). A typology of solo independent women travellers. International Journal of Tourism Research, 12 (3), 253-264. doi: 10.1002/jtr.751
2010
Journal Article
Reading, learning and enacting: interpretation at visitor sites in the wet tropics rainforest of Australia
McNamara, Karen Elizabeth and Prideaux, Bruce (2010). Reading, learning and enacting: interpretation at visitor sites in the wet tropics rainforest of Australia. Environmental Education Research, 16 (2), 173-188. doi: 10.1080/13504620903486412
2010
Other Outputs
Constructing the Torres Strait: report on policy, media and public opinion
McNamara, Karen E. and Parnell, Kevin E. (2010). Constructing the Torres Strait: report on policy, media and public opinion. MTSRF Final Project Reports Cairns, QLD, Australia: Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility (MTSRF).
2010
Other Outputs
Climate change and environmental degradation: impact on migration
McNamara, K. E. (2010). Climate change and environmental degradation: impact on migration. Paris, France: UNESCO.
2010
Journal Article
Assessing tourists’ perceptions of climate change on mountain landscapes
Prideaux, B., Coghlan, A. and McNamara, K. E. (2010). Assessing tourists’ perceptions of climate change on mountain landscapes. Tourism Recreation Research, 35 (2), 187-199. doi: 10.1080/02508281.2010.11081633
2010
Other Outputs
Assessing environmental research needs across three communities in the Torres Strait: synthesis report. Transition project final report
McNamara, Karen and Morseau, Fiona (2010). Assessing environmental research needs across three communities in the Torres Strait: synthesis report. Transition project final report. Transition Project 40: Assessing environmental research needs across the Torres Strait Cairns, QLD, Australia: Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility (MTSRF).
2010
Other Outputs
Remembering rights to land and culture in discussion of ‘climate refugees
McNamara, K. E. (2010, 01 01). Remembering rights to land and culture in discussion of ‘climate refugees Greencross Australia
2010
Other Outputs
How local knowledge is facilitating climate change adaptation in the Torres Strait
McNamara, K. E. (2010, 01 01). How local knowledge is facilitating climate change adaptation in the Torres Strait Greencross Australia
2009
Other Outputs
Douglas community consultation: issues of concern 2009
Prideaux, Bruce, Sibtain, Jonathan and McNamara, Karen (2009). Douglas community consultation: issues of concern 2009. Cairns, QLD, Australia: Cairns Regional Council.
2009
Journal Article
'We do not want to leave our land': Pacific ambassadors at the United Nations resist the category of 'climate refugees'
McNamara, Karen Elizabeth and Gibson, Chris (2009). 'We do not want to leave our land': Pacific ambassadors at the United Nations resist the category of 'climate refugees'. Geoforum, 40 (3), 475-483. doi: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2009.03.006
2009
Journal Article
Voices from the margins: Pacific ambassadors and the geopolitics of marginality at the United Nations
McNamara, Karen E. (2009). Voices from the margins: Pacific ambassadors and the geopolitics of marginality at the United Nations. Asia Pacific Viewpoint, 50 (1), 1-12. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8373.2009.01376.x
2009
Other Outputs
Shopping on Norfolk Island: 2008 survey
Prideaux, Bruce, McNamara, Karen and Blakeney, Kayla (2009). Shopping on Norfolk Island: 2008 survey. Norfolk Island, Australia: Norfolk Island Tourism.
2009
Other Outputs
Rainforest Tourism second annual report: January-December 2008. Annual and quarterly patterns of rainforest tourism in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, North Queensland
McNamara, Karen and Prideaux, Bruce (2009). Rainforest Tourism second annual report: January-December 2008. Annual and quarterly patterns of rainforest tourism in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, North Queensland. MTSRF Research Report Series. Report 34 Cairns, QLD, Australia: Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility (MTSRF).
2009
Other Outputs
Tourist Exit Survey second annual report: January-December 2008. Annual and quarterly patterns of reef and rainforest tourism in North Queensland from exit surveys conducted at Cairns Domestic Airport
McNamara, Karen and Prideaux, Bruce (2009). Tourist Exit Survey second annual report: January-December 2008. Annual and quarterly patterns of reef and rainforest tourism in North Queensland from exit surveys conducted at Cairns Domestic Airport. MTSRF Research Report Series. Report 35 Cairns, QLD, Australia: Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility (MTSRF).
2008
Other Outputs
Rainforest Tourism first annual report: January-December 2007. Annual and quarterly patterns of rainforest tourism in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, North Queensland
McNamara, Karen and Prideaux, Bruce (2008). Rainforest Tourism first annual report: January-December 2007. Annual and quarterly patterns of rainforest tourism in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, North Queensland. MTSRF Research Report Series. Report 16 Cairns, QLD, Australia: Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility (MTSRF).
2008
Journal Article
Environmental Sustainability in practice? A macro-scale profile of tourist accommodation facilities in Australia's coastal zone
McNamara, Karen Elizabeth and Gibson, Chris (2008). Environmental Sustainability in practice? A macro-scale profile of tourist accommodation facilities in Australia's coastal zone. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 16 (1), 85-100. doi: 10.2167/jost621.0
2008
Other Outputs
Tourist Exit Survey first annual report: January-December 2007. Annual and quarterly patterns of reef and rainforest tourism in North Queensland from exit surveys conducted at Cairns Domestic Airport
McNamara, Karen and Prideaux, Bruce (2008). Tourist Exit Survey first annual report: January-December 2007. Annual and quarterly patterns of reef and rainforest tourism in North Queensland from exit surveys conducted at Cairns Domestic Airport. MTSRF Research Report Series. Report 17 Cairns, QLD, Australia: Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility (MTSRF).
2008
Journal Article
Pragmatic discourses and alternative resistance: responses to climate change in the Pacific
McNamara, Karen Elizabeth (2008). Pragmatic discourses and alternative resistance: responses to climate change in the Pacific. Graduate Journal of Asia-Pacific Studies, 6 (2), 33-54.
2007
Journal Article
Conceptualizing discourses on environmental refugees at the United Nations
McNamara, Karen Elizabeth (2007). Conceptualizing discourses on environmental refugees at the United Nations. Population and Environment, 29 (1), 12-24. doi: 10.1007/s11111-007-0058-1
Funding
Current funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor Karen McNamara is:
- Available for supervision
Looking for a supervisor? Read our advice on how to choose a supervisor.
Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
Climate Change Adaptation in Tuvalu
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Claudia Benham
-
Doctor Philosophy
Restoring Holistic Wellbeing Following Extreme Weather Events in Australia and Vanuatu
Principal Advisor
-
Doctor Philosophy
Picturing climate migration: critiquing the visual discourse
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Roland Bleiker
Completed supervision
-
2025
Doctor Philosophy
Exploring vulnerability to climate change for women vendors in Vanuatu
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Bradd Witt
-
2024
Doctor Philosophy
Centering local voices across planned relocations: case studies from Fiji
Principal Advisor
-
2021
Doctor Philosophy
Defining the planning and policy problem of climate change adaptation: A discursive analysis of multi-level governance frameworks
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Ann Ellen Peterson
-
2021
Doctor Philosophy
Local government agency and advocacy on major projects in Australia: facilitating active citizenship for environmental politics
Principal Advisor
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Plastic food and beverage packaging in small island developing states: Mapping the flow to identify innovation
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Kelly Fielding
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
The influence of emergency food aid on the causal disaster vulnerability of remote Indigenous food systems: a case study of the Bedamuni of Western Province, Papua New Guinea
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Bradd Witt
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Assessing the effectiveness of planned adaptation in rural Pacific Island communities: case studies from Fiji and Kiribati
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor James Watson
-
2017
Doctor Philosophy
Understanding Long-term Livelihood Resilience of Resettled Ethnic Groups in the Yali Falls Dam Basin, Central Highlands of Vietnam
Joint Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Bradd Witt
-
2017
Doctor Philosophy
Climate-Smart Agriculture in Practice: Insights from smallholder farmers, Timor-Leste and the Philippines, Southeast Asia
Joint Principal Advisor
-
2023
Doctor Philosophy
Climate Change Adaptation Planning in Bangladesh: Gender, Participation, and Power
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Elske van de Fliert
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Disruptive factors as drivers for rapid energy transition: A case study of Japanese electricity demand over three system disruptions
Associate Advisor
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Settling into a New Place: Livelihood recovery and belongingness of households forced to relocate in Yangon, Myanmar
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Sonia Roitman
-
2018
Doctor Philosophy
Social impact assessment, social justice and scales of knowledge: exploring the emerging mining industry in Solomon Islands
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Simon Albert, Professor Kristen Lyons
-
2016
Doctor Philosophy
Living with drought: a study of spatial mobility in semi-arid Northeast Brazil
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Elin Charles-Edwards
Media
Enquiries
Contact Professor Karen McNamara directly for media enquiries about:
- Climate change adaptation
- Climate-induced human mobility
- Pacific Islands region
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