An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities". An environmentalist is engaged in or believes in the philosophy of environmentalism or one of the related philosophies.
The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) is Australia's national environmental organisation, launched in 1965 in response to a proposal by the World Wide Fund for Nature for a more co-ordinated approach to sustainability.
John Williams is an Australian scientist whose life work has been in the study of hydrology and the use of water in the landscape and farming, including land salinity.
Ian William Chubb is an Australian neuroscientist and academic, who was the Chief Scientist of Australia from 23 May 2011 to 22 January 2016.
Simon Asher Levin is an American ecologist and the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the director of the Center for BioComplexity at Princeton University. He specializes in using mathematical modeling and empirical studies in the understanding of macroscopic patterns of ecosystems and biological diversities.
Emeritus Professor Harry Frederick Recher RZS (NSW) AM is an Australian ecologist, ornithologist and advocate for conservation.
Hugh Phillip Possingham, FAA, is the former Queensland Chief Scientist and is best known for his work in conservation biology, applied ecology, and basic ecological theory including population ecology. He is also a professor of mathematics, Professor of Zoology and an ARC Laureate Fellow in the Department of Mathematics and the School of the Environment at The University of Queensland.
The Murray–Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) is the principal government agency in charge of managing the Murray–Darling Basin in an integrated and sustainable manner. The MDBA is an independent statutory agency that manages, in conjunction with the Basin states, the Murray–Darling basin's water resources in the national interest. The MDBA reports to the Australian Government Minister for the Environment and Water, held since June 2022 by the Hon Tanya Plibersek.
Steve Hatfield Dodds is an Australian philosophical economist, with notable work in the social cost of economic decision-making and particularly sustainable development and the economic impact of climate change.
Bruce Graham Thom is an Australian geoscientist and educator. He is a founding member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, Emeritus Professor at the University of Sydney in Australia and founding President of the Australian Coastal Society. Educated at The Scots College in Bellevue Hill, Sydney, Australia and the University of Sydney, where he served as Professor of Geography and Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research). He is also former Vice Chancellor of the University of New England and former Chair of the Australian State of the Environment Committee. Professor Thom has written widely in the areas of physical geography, coastal management, coastal policy, coastal geology, and geomorphology. He was made a member of the Order of Australia in 2010.
Peter Cullen AO FTSE, MAgrSc, DipEd (Melb), Hon DUniv (Canb), was a leading Australian water scientist.
Water security in Australia became a major concern in Australia in the late 20th and early 21st century as a result of population growth, recurring severe droughts, effects of climate change on Australia, environmental degradation from reduced environmental flows, competition between competing interests such as grazing, irrigation and urban water supplies, and competition between upstream and downstream users. For example, there is competition for the resources of the Darling River system between Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia. Water reform was first placed on the national agenda at the 1994 Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting when a strategic framework was devised. As the knowledge of surface and groundwater systems grew and the awareness of the significance of sustainable water markets increased, further water reform was agreed to at the 2004 COAG meeting, under a national blueprint known as the National Water Initiative (NWI).
Crawford School of Public Policy is a research-intensive policy school within the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific at The Australian National University which focuses on Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. The school was named after Sir John Crawford, and its current director is Professor Helen Sullivan.
Distinguished Professor David Lindenmayer,, is an Australian scientist and academic. His research focuses on the adoption of nature conservation practices in agricultural production areas, developing ways to improve integration of native forest harvesting and biodiversity conservation, new approaches to enhance biodiversity conservation in plantations, and improved fire management practices in Australia. He specialises in large-scale, long-term research monitoring programs in south-eastern Australia, primarily in forests, reserves, national parks, plantations, and on farm land.
Michael "Mike" Denis Young is an Australian economist and water policy expert. He is best known for his work informing the management of the water resources of the Murray-Darling Basin. In 2006 he was listed by The Canberra Times as one of the ten most influential people in water policy reform. In 2009 Young became the inaugural director of the Environment Institute at the University of Adelaide. He holds a Research Chair in Water Economics and Management there and has been a member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists since 2002. In 2013-14, Young held the Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser Chair of Australian Studies at Harvard University.
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."
Professor Helene Denise Marsh is an Australian scientist who has provided research in the field of Environmental Science, more specifically Zoology and Ecology. The focal point of her research has been the biology of dugongs, with particular foci in the areas of population ecology, history, reproduction, diet, and movements. She is the Dean of Graduate Research Studies and the Professor of Environmental Science at James Cook University in Queensland, Australia, and also a Distinguished Professor in the College of Marine and Environmental Science. Marsh is also a program leader for the Marine and Tropical Research Science Facility. In 2015 she was elected a Fellow of both the Australian Academy of Science (FAA), and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (FTSE). She was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 2021 Australia Day Honours.
Kerrie Ann Wilson is an Australian environmental scientist who is the Queensland Chief Scientist and a Professor in the Faculty of Science at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). She was formerly the Pro Vice-Chancellor at QUT. Wilson is also an affiliated professor in conservation science at the University of Copenhagen, honorary professor at The University of Queensland, a member of the Australian Heritage Council and the Australian Natural Sciences Commissioner for UNESCO.
Carolyn Fischer is an environmental economist. She was born in Ontario, later moving to the United States. She is a senior fellow for Resources for the Future, as well as being a Canada 150 Research Chair in Climate Economics, Innovation, and Policy. She is also a professor of environmental and natural resource economics at Vrije Universiteit-Amsterdam.
