The Fenner School is a world-leading centre for interdisciplinary research on the conservation and management of Australia’s distinctive biodiversity.

Our researchers are actively contributing to climate change mitigation and adaptation solutions through innovative, interdisciplinary research and policy-relevant advice drawing on expertise across climate science, climate adaptation, energy, environmental monitoring and management, and sustainable development.

Food and water security are two of the biggest global challenges of our time. Our research focuses on providing reliable scientific, sociological and institutional knowledge to inform sustainable food and water policies and improve the management, use and conservation of natural resources.

Forests provide ecosystem services that are critical to humans and the sustainability of our environment. Our research focuses on management of critically important native forests and woodlands, including forest ecology, landscape restoration, wildlife conservation, ecologically sustainable forestry, and the effects of fire and climate.

The Fenner School is home to a number of researchers who are making important scholarly contributions to understanding the relationship between Indigenous Australians and the environment. Our research focuses on the historical and contemporary involvement of Indigenous peoples in environmental management, Indigenous peoples’ worldviews of sustainability and the challenge of water scarcity for Indigenous communities in Australia.

Effective environmental management requires an understanding of the interactions between policy choices and complex social, economic, technical and environmental processes. Integrative research methods play a critical role in our ability to identify pathways towards sustainability.

While urbanisation presents a number of opportunities including the promise of better services, stronger economies and connections, it also creates complex challenges. Our research focuses on understanding the structure, function and processes of urban social ecological systems, and the drivers and impacts of urbanisation.