Dr Wendy Proctor, Stream Leader, Coastal Futures.

Dr Wendy Proctor: enhancing environmental management

Dr Proctor's main research interest is in decision analysis and particularly in the application of participatory methods to enhance environmental management. She leads an area of research that is providing science to improve coastal planning and resource decisions through evaluation of social, economic and environmental issues of natural assets and human use in the coastal zone.

• 17 February 2010 | Updated 14 October 2011

Overview

• Current activities
• Background
• Academic qualifications 
• Achievements

Current activities

Dr Wendy Proctor is an ecological economist and Stream Leader, Coastal Futures, within the Our Resilient Coastal Australia Theme of the Wealth from Oceans Flagship.

Her current research includes:

• incentives for enhancing biodiversity conservation in marine and coastal areas
• decision aiding techniques for local government planning
• adapting to impacts of climate and demographic changes on coastal marine and estuarine ecosystems
• contributing to the development of an International Payments for Ecosystem Services scheme.

Dr Proctor's main interest is in decision analysis and particularly in the application of participatory methods to enhance environmental management. This also involves techniques to enable the integration of varied research components as well as dealing with often conflicting stakeholder values. 

Dr Proctor's recent research combines participatory and deliberative processes with formal, multi-criteria decision aiding techniques in a process known as Deliberative Multi-criteria Evaluation.

Background

Dr Wendy Proctor is currently working on research to improve coastal planning in response to climate change and demographic pressures as well as spatial incentives for enhancing biodiversity in marine areas.

Prior to joining the CSIRO, Dr Proctor held research and teaching positions at the Australian National University. Prior to that she was a Senior Economist and Manager of the Fisheries Economics Section at the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics. Dr Proctor is currently President of the Australia New Zealand Society for Ecological Economics, an Editorial Board member for the journal Ecological Economics and is a recent member of the Board of Directors for the International Society for Ecological Economics.

Her recent research has involved:

• Deliberative Multi-criteria Evaluation that assists stakeholders in integrating and assessing complex and sometimes intangible information that may involve significant tradeoffs including case studies related to prioritising the threat of invasive plant pests, management strategies to minimise effects on children from lead and zinc smelter emissions and marine policy formulation
• Contributing to research on an International Payments for Ecosystem Services scheme being developed by the United Nations Environment Program, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Academic qualifications

Dr Proctor has been awarded the following:

• Bachelor of Agricultural Economics in 1985 from the University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
• Associate Diploma of Applied Science (Horticulture) in 1993, Canberra Institute of Technology, Canberra, Australia
• Master of Economics in 1995 from the University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
• Doctor of Philosophy in 2002 at the Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
• Australian Institute of Company Directors Course Certificate 2008.

Achievements

Dr Proctor has achieved the following:

• President of the Australia New Zealand Society for Ecological Economics 2008-present [external link]
• Editorial Board Member, Ecological Economics journal, 2009- present [external link]
• Board Member, International Society for Ecological Economics, 2004–2010 [external link]
• 2008 CSIRO ‘Look Out’ Award for Without Water: The economics of supplying water to 5 million more Australians
• Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics Postgraduate Scholarship 1993 .

Learn more about CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems.