A/Prof Michele Barnes, Director of the SDEC Lab, has stepped into a Theme Lead role at the Sydney Environment Institute focused on Climate Disaster and Adaptation.
Barnes’ research brings a social–ecological systems perspective to understanding how communities and institutions respond to climate risk.
Climate disasters emerge from complex interactions between ecosystems, infrastructure, governance, and social systems, and her work examines how social relationships, institutional arrangements, and ecological dynamics shape adaptive capacity and resilience.
In this role, Barnes aims to foster interdisciplinary collaboration across the University of Sydney and beyond, connecting environmental science, social science, and policy-relevant research. The theme provides a platform to strengthen partnerships and generate actionable insights to support more effective and equitable climate adaptation.
Social Dynamics and Environmental Change 