Research themes within the Centre for Environment, Society and Resilience (CESR)

Our research themes respond to the need for non-linear and bi-directional research on

1. the effects of our environment and climate change on society
2. the influence that societal practices and behaviours, diversity of place, changes in our built environment and policy can have on our environment and climate.

Our work reflects the fluid boundaries between the themes and the need to cross-collaborate between these groupings of expertise.

Theme 1: Environmental Systems

Understanding risk and resilience

Theme Co-Leads: Dr Ben Williams and Dr Todd Lewis

This theme focusses on diagnosing and understanding the risk and opportunities for our natural environment in the face of our climate crisis and biodiversity loss. Using environmental monitoring and modelling tools and geomorphological, ecological, and remote sensing techniques, this theme explores the quantitative and qualitative changes in our natural environment (air, water, earth, and nature).

Central to this is the focus on environmental and public health, existing and emergent air quality and water pollutants from both anthropogenic and biogenic sources, and multi-scalar effects of climate change, including floods/drought. We also incorporate a strong existing theme of conflict and resource insecurity, in recognition of the increasingly destabilising global conditions and the recognised potential for climate change to exacerbate conflict occurrence.

Theme 2: People, Communities and Environmental Challenges

Building just and sustainable futures 

Theme Co-Leads: Dr Laura Fogg-Rogers and Dr Sara-Jayne Williams

This theme centres on creating equitable, just, and sustainable futures by working collaboratively with people and communities on research to address societal and place-based issues associated with environmental challenges, such as deteriorating air quality, water security, flood/drought risks, increasing hydroclimatic hazard, impacts to landscapes and the associated loss of biodiversity.

Emphasising social, environmental and climate justice through inclusivity, diversity and involvement of underrepresented groups, research within this theme utilises innovative methodologies grounded in social science and humanities, such as arts-based, co-productive, and participatory approaches, to explore the impacts on people and communities of complex environmental issues resulting in the ability to advance knowledge systems for decision-making.

Theme 3: Policy, Governance and the Environment

Shaping decisions for secure, sustainable, green futures 

Theme Co-Leads: Dr Laura de Vito and Dr Thomas Appleby

This theme focuses on the role of policy and governance in affecting environmental security and sustainability for current and future generations (e.g. in relation to air quality management, net zero strategies, water access and quality, conservation management etc). It draws on interdisciplinary expertise from public policy and governance, environmental law, human geography, ecological economics, anthropology, environmental psychology.

This theme tackles challenges of environmental policy development and implementation, environmental management approaches for resource security, polycentric and collaborative governance arrangements. Its broad aim is to analyse and co-develop effective solutions to these challenges from the local to the global scale and across the policy cycle, including the policy impacts of societal responses to environmental change, and societal response to environmental policies.