The Global Adaptation Institute

Caroline Sullivan is an environmental economist specialising in water management and policy, climate adaptation and valuation of ecosystem services. Prior to joining the academic staff at SCU, Dr Sullivan worked as a Distinguised Research Fellow at the Oxford University School of Geography and the Environment, where she was based for 2 years, after working for eight years as the Head of Water Policy and Management at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. Wallingford, UK. Originally qualified in Economics and Psychology, she went on to study Economic Development Planning at the masters level, before completing her PhD in Environmental Economics, on the Valuation of non timber forest products. She has worked in developing countries for over 25 years, both in research and teaching, and has been engaged in the fields of water research, economic development, poverty and the MDGs, and environmental management for sustainable development. She has lived for over 15 years in various countries in Africa, Latin America and South East Asia, and has carried out project work in over 40 different developing countries. Dr Sullivan currently teaches Environmental and Ecological Economics to undergraduate and post graduate students in SCU’s School of Environmental Science and Management. She also teaches Natural Resource Policy, and leads a new postgraduate unit on environment and development. She has been external examiner on water resources at the University of Warwick, UK, and on the Sustainable Development and Ecological Economics masters level courses at Leeds University department of Earth and the Environment (UK).

She is a member of the scientific committee of the international Freshwater Crosscutting Network of DIVERSITAS, and Director of Research for the School of Environmental Science and Management at SCU. She has been technical advisor on the development of water indices to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation. the International Fund for Agriculture and Development, the World Bank and a number of other organisations. She is a member of the UN expert panel on indicators for the World Water Development Report. Her main current research interests are in improving water management for both humans and ecosystems. In addition to Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), on which she has worked extensively for several years, she has done considerable work on the development of integrated indices, most notably the Water Poverty Index and the Climate Vulnerability Index. She has also worked for many years on wetlands, ecosystem values and services, tourism and forestry, non timber forest products, water economics, transboundary water management, and adaptation to climate change. She is currently involved in several international research projects and is a consultant to the African Development Bank and Ausaid, and is a fellow of the ANU Centre for Water Economics, Environment and Policy.