Jennifer Margaret McKay | |
---|---|
Nationality | Australian |
Occupation(s) | Socio-legal researcher and an academic |
Awards | Member, Order of Australia (2023) |
Academic background | |
Education | B.A., Psychology and Geography Ph.D., Environmental Policy LLB |
Alma mater | University of Melbourne University of Adelaide |
Academic work | |
Institutions | University of South Australia |
Jennifer Margaret McKay is an Australian socio-legal researcher and an academic. She is a Professor of Business Law at the University of South Australia. [1]
McKay's work has centered on water law and governance in Australia,offering policymakers insights into the effects of water policies on diverse user groups and proposing reforms aimed at sustainable management and building trust within the sector. [2] With over 180 publications in environmental and natural resources management law,her research has been published academic journals such as Environment and Development Economics and Water Policy. [3] Over the years,she has proposed several law reforms,with a later focus on advocating for the inclusion of the human right to a clean,healthy environment in a potential Human Rights Act for South Australia. [4] Additionally,she has received funding for her research from national and international organizations,including the Australian Research Council,the National Groundwater Centre of Excellence,UNESCO,the OECD,and the World Bank. [5] In 2021,she as given the peer recognition by being was awarded a distinguished fellow of the International Water Resources Association (France) and in 2022 a fellowship of International Water Association UK. [2] In 2023,she was recognized as a Member of the Order of Australia for her service to the legal profession. [6]
McKay earned her B.A. in Psychology and Geography from the University of Melbourne in 1979,followed by a Ph.D. in Environmental Policy from the same institution in 1983. She completed a Law degree at the University of Adelaide in 1988 and,in 1989,obtained a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the University of South Australia. She later pursued a Graduate Diploma in Human Rights Law at American University in Washington,D.C.,in 2009. In 2023,she earned a Graduate certificate in education (online learning) from the University of South Australia. [1]
McKay's career spans over four decades in academia,law,environmental policy,and community service. She served as assistant dean at St. Mark's College from 1981 to 1983,later joining the University of South Australia as a Lecturer in 1992 and becoming Professor of Business Law in 2000. [1] She held international positions,including at the University of Fiji,served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Australian National University,and worked as a Research Officer at the University of Adelaide from 1983 to 1988,as well as at the University of Melbourne from 1986 to 1988. From 1995 to 2017,she served as a Part-Time Commissioner at South Australia's Environment,Resources and Development Court. During this time,she held a senior Fulbright position at UC Berkeley in 2008. Her involvement with the Law Society of South Australia began in 1990,where she continues to serve on committees focused on business,human rights,and environmental law. She has also contributed to international organizations,including the International Union for Conservation of Nature's World Commission on Environmental Law since 2016, [7] as a Strategic Council Member of the International Water Association from 2007 to 2010,and as a Fellow since 2022. [8] [9]
McKay was nominated by Fulbright for a TedX presentation in Adelaide. Moreover,she is an editorial board member of the Journal of Environmental Law and Australasian Journal of Environmental Management. [10]
In 2019,McKay was invited to give a TedX talk,which she called Duty to Cooperate:Making Messy Mosaic Laws into Jigsaw Laws. [11]
McKay's body of research comprises book chapters and articles. In 2000,she examined Australia's fragmented water quality regulations,advocating for mandatory,enforceable standards to ensure safe drinking water across states,beyond the existing voluntary guidelines and limited urban licensing schemes. [12] Her 2005 study,published in the journal Water Policy,reviewed Australia's water institutional reforms since 1995,highlighting the comprehensive changes,ongoing challenges like regional diversity and public-private conflicts,and offering case studies to present perspectives on the theory and practice of such reforms. [13] Two years later,she investigated community attitudes and willingness to pay for recycled water in Mawson Lakes,South Australia,emphasizing the significance of attributes such as color,odor,salt content,and price for non-potable domestic uses. [14]
In 2008,McKay analyzed community satisfaction with recycled water use in Mawson Lakes,highlighting the importance of communication,trust,fairness,quality,financial value,and perceived risks,and offered guidelines to enhance community support for future projects. [15] In her research on storm water harvesting in Salisbury,South Australia,she explored public perceptions and health concerns surrounding treated storm water use. Her findings revealed that attitudes were shaped by the proximity of the end use and the perceived quality of the water. [16] In 2014,she authored a chapter in the book Water and the Law. The chapter detailed the evolution of Australian water management laws from 1788 to 2009,highlighting shifts from riparian rights to licensing systems and the incorporation of Ecologically Sustainable Development in response to water scarcity and environmental challenges. [17]
McKay's 2015 publication is a book chapter included in the Handbook of Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Development Research. The book chapter analyzed freshwater allocation conflicts in Australia,emphasizing ecological sustainability policies,community involvement in regional water plans,and the importance of sustainability policy entrepreneurs in addressing challenges from changing water allocations. [18] In 2018,she contributed a chapter to the book Reforming Water Law and Governance:From Stagnation to Innovation in Australia. Focusing on governance in the water supply sector,the chapter highlighted the need for unified laws,harmonized organizations,and stronger civil society,while comparing urban water supply strategies between Australia and China's evolving governance models. [19] Most recently,in 2022,her study on environmental law education used automated assessment to evaluate student presentations,demonstrating that structured self-reflection fosters deeper learning and improves educational outcomes in legal studies. [20]
Environmental laws are laws that protect the environment. Environmental law is the collection of laws,regulations,agreements and common law that governs how humans interact with their environment. This includes environmental regulations;laws governing management of natural resources,such as forests,minerals,or fisheries;and related topics such as environmental impact assessments. Environmental law is seen as the body of laws concerned with the protection of living things from the harm that human activity may immediately or eventually cause to them or their species,either directly or to the media and the habits on which they depend.
Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use,aesthetic value,scientific interest,and cultural value. On Earth,it includes sunlight,atmosphere,water,land,all minerals along with all vegetation,and wildlife.
Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection,transport,treatment,and disposal of waste,together with monitoring and regulation of the waste management process and waste-related laws,technologies,and economic mechanisms.
Environmental protection,or environment protection,is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals,groups and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and,where it is possible,to repair damage and reverse trends.
Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is a strategy to add all of the estimated environmental costs associated with a product throughout the product life cycle to the market price of that product,contemporarily mainly applied in the field of waste management. Such societal costs are typically externalities to market mechanisms,with a common example being the impact of cars.
Forestry laws govern activities in designated forest lands,most commonly with respect to forest management and timber harvesting. Forestry laws generally adopt management policies for public forest resources,such as multiple use and sustained yield. Forest management is split between private and public management,with public forests being sovereign property of the State. Forestry laws are now considered an international affair.
Environmental policy is the commitment of an organization or government to the laws,regulations,and other policy mechanisms concerning environmental issues. These issues generally include air and water pollution,waste management,ecosystem management,maintenance of biodiversity,the management of natural resources,wildlife and endangered species. For example,concerning environmental policy,the implementation of an eco-energy-oriented policy at a global level to address the issue of climate change could be addressed.
Public participation,also known as citizen participation or patient and public involvement,is the inclusion of the public in the activities of any organization or project. Public participation is similar to but more inclusive than stakeholder engagement.
James J. Kay was an ecological scientist and policy-maker. He was a respected physicist best known for his theoretical work on complexity and thermodynamics.
Presented annually since 1991,the Stockholm Water Prize is an award that recognizes outstanding achievements in water related activities. Over the past three decades,Stockholm Water Prize Laureates have come from across the world and represented a wide range of professions,disciplines and activities in the field of water.
Michael Cuthill is an Australian environmentalist known for his contributions to community engagement and environmental management. He served as the Director of the Community Engagement Centre of the University of Queensland,Ipswich Campus.
Environmental governance (EG) consists of a system of laws,norms,rules,policies and practices that dictate how the board members of an environment related regulatory body should manage and oversee the affairs of any environment related regulatory body which is responsible for ensuring sustainability (sustainable development) and manage all human activities—political,social and economic. Environmental governance includes government,business and civil society,and emphasizes whole system management. To capture this diverse range of elements,environmental governance often employs alternative systems of governance,for example watershed-based management.
Micro-sustainability is the portion of sustainability centered around small scale environmental measures that ultimately affect the environment through a larger cumulative impact. Micro-sustainability centers on individual efforts,behavior modification,education and creating attitudinal changes,which result in an environmentally conscious individual. Micro-sustainability encourages sustainable changes through "change agents"—individuals who foster positive environmental action locally and inside their sphere of influence. Examples of micro-sustainability include recycling,power saving by turning off unused lights,programming thermostats for efficient use of energy,reducing water usage,changing commuting habits to use less fossil fuels or modifying buying habits to reduce consumption and waste. The emphasis of micro-sustainability is on an individual's actions,rather than organizational or institutional practices at the systemic level. These small local level actions have immediate community benefits if undertaken on a widespread scale and if imitated,they can have a cumulative broad impact.
Environmental governance is a concept in environmental policy that steers markets,technology and society towards sustainability. It considers social,economic and environmental aspects of its policies.
Waste management in Russia refers to the legislation,actions and processes pertaining to the management of the various waste types encountered throughout the Russian Federation. The basis of legal governance for waste management in Russia at the federal level is outlined through Federal Law No. 89-FZ,which defines waste as “the remains of raw materials,materials,semi-finished products,other articles or products that have been formed in the process of production or consumption as well as the goods (products) that have lost their consumer properties”.
The contributions of women in climate change have received increasing attention in the early 21st century. Feedback from women and the issues faced by women have been described as "imperative" by the United Nations and "critical" by the Population Reference Bureau. A report by the World Health Organization concluded that incorporating gender-based analysis would "provide more effective climate change mitigation and adaptation."
Raymond L. Ison is an Australian-British cybernetician,systems scholar/scientist,and Professor of Systems at the Open University in the UK. He is currently President of the International Federation for Systems Research (IFSR). He was also Professor Systems for Sustainability at Monash University,and fellow at the Centre for Policy Development,and President of the International Society for the Systems Sciences in the year 2014-15. He is known for his work on systems praxeology within rural development,sustainable management,systemic governance and the design and enactment of learning systems.
Sara Dolnicar is an Austrian behavioural scientist who researches market segmentation methodology,sustainable tourism,Airbnb,public acceptance of recycled water,and a range of social marketing questions,such as how to identify and attract high-quality foster carers. Since 2013,she has been a research professor of tourism at The University of Queensland in Brisbane,Australia. She has been recognised by the Republic of Slovenia for her research achievements.
Alexandra Harrington is an international jurist in human rights,environmental and climate change law,and both a Professor of Law at Albany Law School and Assistant Director of the Global Institute for Health and Human Rights. In addition,Harrington is Director of Studies for the International Law Association of Colombia,a member of the ILA Committee on the Role of International Law in Sustainable Natural Resource Management for Development,and is Lead Counsel for Peace,Justice and Governance at the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law.
Joyeeta Gupta is a social scientist focusing on environment and development. She is Distinguished Professor of Climate Justice,Sustainability and Global Justice,and is also Professor of Environment and Development in the Global South and holds a water professorship at IHE-Delft Institute for Water Education. She is the co-chair (2024-2025) of the UN Secretary General Appointed Group of Ten High-level Representatives of Civil Society,Private Sector and Scientific Community to Promote Science,Technology and Innovation for the SDGs (10-Member-Group) - a component of the UN Technology Facilitation Mechanism. She is a Commissioner in the Global Commission on the Economics of Water,organized by OECD,financed by the Netherlands Government (2022-24). She was Co-chair of the first phase of the Earth Commission (2019-2024),convened by Future Earth and the Global Commons Alliance during which time 22 publications were achieved with a top publication in Nature and in Lancet Planetary Health. Along with Johan Rockström,she did a plenary presentation of the Earth Commission results at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2023. She also was co-chair of UNEP’s Global Environment Outlook-6 assessing knowledge on the environment and the Sustainable Development Goals. The report and its Summary for Policy Makers were presented to the 4th United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) for endorsement by UN Member States at that assembly. The report received the Prose Prize. She was awarded the 2023 Spinoza Prize - the highest distinction in Dutch science and also called the 'Dutch Nobel Prize',the 2022 Piers Sellers prize for world leading contribution to solution-focused climate research,Priestley International Centre for Climate,the 2019 Prose Award for the GEO,the 2015 Atmospheric Science Librarians International Choice Award for her Cambridge University Press Book:History of Global Climate Governance,the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize as an IPCC author,and the 2005 2nd Zayed prize as a Millenium Ecosystem Assessment author. In 2024 she did a concert on Climate Injustice in Four Seasons at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and Eindhoven. Her work has been made into a three dimensional art piece in the pop climate museum which the public can interact with. She is also featured in the ‘Prize Cupboard’in the Rijksmuseum Boerhaave in Leiden.