Governance of renewable natural resources
How societies decide the fate of forests, fisheries, water, food and biodiversity.
We study the relationships between people and the natural systems they depend on to inform evidence-based policy and practice.
- Principal investigator
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Professor Gordon M. Hickey
B.For.Sci. (Hons), Melbourne
Ph.D. (Forestry), British Columbia
M.P.A. (Exec.), Monash - Department
- Natural Resource Sciences, Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
- Campus
- Macdonald Campus, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Québec
In the field
People and the systems they live from
Every question we ask begins somewhere specific - a watershed, a forest, a region - and with the people whose livelihoods depend on how it is governed.
The laboratory
Interdisciplinary, engaged, and designed to be used
Our work examines how renewable natural resources are governed and managed across socio-ecological and socio-technical systems. We engage in interdisciplinary and international research in collaboration with end-users including government, the private sector, NGOs and local and Indigenous communities.
Our aim is to inform decision-making and support innovative public policies.
- Government agencies
- The private sector
- Local and Indigenous communities
Three streams, one objective
Research streams
Our research runs along three lines of enquiry to advance sustainable natural resource management, policy and governance internationally.
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Environmental monitoring and assessment
-Community capacities
-Knowledge pluralism
-Criteria and indicators
-Cumulative effects
-Strategic Environmental Assessment
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Resilience of resource-dependent communities
-Adaptive capacity
-Sustainable rural livelihoods
-Co-management and participation
-Social-ecological fit
-Institutional analysis
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Innovation, regulatory science and public policy
-Regional innovation ecosystems
-Institutional entrepreneurship
-Policy networks
-Transboundary governance
-Trust, risk and control systems
Support
Research funders
The projects we undertake are carried out with the support of research councils, government agencies, foundations and international partners across Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, China and the United States.
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)
- Genome Canada and Génome Québec
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)
- National Institute for Forest Products Innovation (NIFPI), Australia
- Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), United Kingdom Research and Innovation
- Australia Forest and Wood Innovation (AFWI)
- National Institutes of Health Research (NIHR), United Kingdom
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, United Kingdom
- Fulbright Canada
- International Development Research Centre (IDRC)
- Government of Yukon
- Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science
- Brace Water Centre, McGill University
- Fonds de recherche du Québec — Société et culture (FRQSC)
- IBM Center for the Business of Government, Washington DC, USA
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Gansu Provincial Administration of Foreign Expert Affairs, China
- Sustainable Forest Management Network
- Canadian International Development Agency
- Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
- International Joint Commission (IJC) Great Lakes Adaptive Management (GLAM) Committee
Vacancies
Join the lab
We supervise M.Sc. and Ph.D. students and postdoctoral fellows. Current openings are listed on the vacancies page.