PhD & Honours projects: Resist, accept or direct? Governing transformation in Australia's changing forests

Australia's high-country forests are already changing. Drought, heatwaves, fire and insect outbreaks are driving large-scale dieback in iconic species such as snow gums, and many forests will not return to what they were. Land managers now face a question conservation was not designed to answer: when should we fight ecological change, when should we let it unfold, and when should we actively steer ecosystems towards new futures?

The Resist-Accept-Direct (RAD) framework offers a way to structure these choices. It was developed in the United States and is gaining international attention, but it has not been formally adopted in Australia. Social science research on RAD has also focused largely on public lands, even though ecosystem change crosses tenure boundaries.

This PhD sits within a five-year ARC Linkage Project that brings together landscape genomics, restoration practice and adaptive governance. Genomic research in the project will map which Eucalyptus populations are vulnerable or resilient to future climates. The social science component asks what it would take for institutions to act on that knowledge, particularly when it points towards accepting or directing transformation rather than resisting it.

The PhD candidate will lead the project's institutional analysis. Using document analysis, secondary data and expert elicitation, the candidate will identify the institutional barriers to transformative management and the leverage points for building capacity to deal with novel ecological futures across public and private lands. 

Research questions could include the following:

• How do current laws, policies and management frameworks shape what forest managers can resist, accept or direct?
• Where do institutional arrangements constrain or enable decisions that actively steer ecosystem transformation, such as climate-adjusted seed sourcing or assisted migration?
• How do decision-makers make sense of landscape change, and what counts as credible evidence when deciding whether to resist, accept or direct it?
• How can decision-making be coordinated across public and private land tenures, and what role can private landholders play in landscape-scale responses to ecosystem change? 

The project partners include NSW DCCEEW, ACT EPSDD, Victoria's DEECA, Parks Victoria, Greening Australia, Upper Snowy Landcare Network and the Botanic Gardens of Sydney. This gives the candidate direct engagement with the agencies and practitioners making these decisions. The candidate will be supervised by A/Prof Sarah Clement and A/Prof Carina Wyborn at the Fenner School of Environment and Society and will be part of a transdisciplinary team spanning genomics, ecology and governance.

PhD Candidate requirements

A bachelor’s degree with first-class honours or a research master’s degree from a recognised university is a prerequisite. Peer-reviewed publications are an advantage. Selection is based on academic merit and the candidate’s research proposal.

Domestic students must obtain and maintain a PhD scholarship stipend at The Australian National University ($ 40,475 per annum (Full-time base rate 2027)). International students must hold an International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (IPRS). Candidates are expected to commence their program in 2027.

PhD Application process and closing dates

Interested candidates should email A/Prof Sarah Clement (sarah.clement@anu.edu.au) and A/Prof Carina Wyborn (carina.wyborn@anu.edu.au) to discuss the project. We ask that you submit a CV and a one-page statement by 19 October 2026. The statement should outline your interest in the project, your relevant skills and experience, and an initial idea of the questions you would like to explore within it.

The closing dates for applications for a PhD stipend scholarship at The Australian National University is 31 October 2026 [click here for details]. 

Honours projects

We are also seeking up to three Honours students to undertake projects within the social science component of the Linkage. Possible topics include the following:

• Carbon farming and landscape transformation. How do private landholders participating in carbon farming perceive landscape transformation and how does this shape their land management decisions?
• Perceptions of genomics in conservation. How do managers, landholders and other stakeholders view the use of genomic information in conservation decisions under climate change?
• Imagining possible futures. What futures do land managers, agencies and landholders think are plausible for these landscapes, and what would help or hinder them in getting there?

Honours students will join the broader project team and work with project partners. Interested students should email A/Prof Sarah Clement (sarah.clement@anu.edu.au) and A/Prof Carina Wyborn (carina.wyborn@anu.edu.au) to discuss topics before applying for the Fenner School Honours program in December.