Dr Megan Evans | UNSW Research

Keywords

environmental policy

public policy

sustainable finance

biodiversity & conservation

governance

Fields of Research (FoR)

Environment policy, Conservation and biodiversity, Environmental politics

SEO tags

Public Services Policy Advice and Analysis

Institutional Arrangements for Environmental Protection

Environmental Policy, Legislation and Standards

Biography

I am a Senior Lecturer in Public Sector Management within the School of Business, UNSW Canberra. I am an interdisciplinary social scientist whose work aims to inform the design, implementation and evaluation of environmental laws, policies and tools.

My research has contributed significantly to environmental policy in Australia and internationally: key examples include work on forest regeneration carbon offset integrity that triggered the Independent Review of Australian Carbon Credit Units (Chubb review), the development of the Australian government’s biodiversity offset policy under federal environmental laws, and work on the economics of land-based carbon offsets that informed the establishment of the $500 million Land Restoration Fund in Queensland. I was a member of Professor Graeme Samuel AC’s Consultative Group as part of the Independent Review of the EPBC Act in 2020, and have engaged extensively with the federal government’s Nature Positive law reform process.

I recently completed an Australian Research Council DECRA Fellowship (2020-2023) which examined the growth of private sector investment in biodiversity and natural capital, and currently supervise five PhD students researching various aspects of environmental policy and governance. I hold undergraduate degrees in mathematics and ecology (UQ), a PhD in environmental policy (ANU), and I am a member of the editorial board of the journal Conservation Letters.

Recent media and comment

Threatened species have declined 2% a year since 2000. Nature positive? Far from it. The Conversation. May 2024
'Australia’s long-sought stronger environmental laws just got indefinitely deferred. It’s back to business as usual. The Conversation. April 2024.
'Pretending to grow forests in the desert': New research questions integrity in safeguard mechanism scheme. ABC News, March 2024
“It makes climate change worse:” Carbon credit projects claiming to regrow forests are failing. RenewEconomy. March 2024
Labor plan for nature repair market rehashes old proposal and risks failure, experts say. The Guardian. February 2023.
What are biodiversity credits and how do they work? ABC News. January 2023.
‘Abysmal’ number of Australian banks and super funds have policies to mitigate environmental risks: report. The Guardian. December 2022.
Biodiversity market has huge potential for rorting and greenwashing, expert. Canberra Times. October 2022.

My Grants

2022: $32,160. Environmental offset scarcity under the EPBC Act. Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (Investigators: Maron, M, Evans M.C., Dutson, G.).
2021: $39,800. Interrogating cross-sectoral narratives around the role of private sector finance and investment. School of Business, UNSW Canberra (Investigators: Evans, M.C., Bazbauers, A., Chand, S., Rooney J.)
2021: $5,000. Review of Environmental Offsets Policy Guidance. Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. (Investigator: Evans, M.C)
2020: $41,600. WWF-Australia. Modelling pathways to a carbon neutral Queensland beef sector through policy and investment to drive transition from deforestation to reforestation.
2020-2023: $379,729. Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Research Award (DECRA) The Effectiveness of Impact Investing for Biodiversity Conservation
2017–2018: $95,786. Project funded by New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage to develop response to management models for priority species (Investigators: Maron, M, Evans M.C., Rhodes J).
2017: $3,000. Awarded a Visiting Fellowship (RMIT University) by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions (CEED).

2015: $7,000. Funding for a workshop on the legal and institutional dimensions of biodiversity offsetting by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions (CEED).
2013 – 2016: $87,500. Won a prestigious Australian National University Australian Postgraduate Award.
2013 – 2016: $49,500. Won a highly competitive CSIRO Climate Adaptation Flagship Top-up Scholarship.

My Qualifications

Doctor of Philosophy, Australian National University
Bachelor of Science with Honours Class 1, The University of Queensland
Bachelor of Arts (Mathematics – Extended Major), The University of Queensland
Bachelor of Science (Ecology), The University of Queensland

My Awards

2021: Awarded the Young Tall Poppy Award for the Australian Capital Territory by the Australian Institute of Policy and Science
2018: Winner of the University of Queensland Faculty of Science Rising Star (Academic) Award (selected from 29 nominations and 349 eligible academics).
2014: Awarded competitive scholarship by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions (CEED) to participate in a year-long leadership program for 14 early career researchers, which included media, facilitation and leadership training, and individual and group projects.
2014: Awarded a prestigious Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists Science Program Scholarship.

My Research Activities

Expertise

Environmental markets, policy and governance
Sustainable and conservation finance
Public policy
Carbon offsets
Science-policy interface
Interdisciplinary research

Research Impacts

My research has made significant national and international policy impact. My collaborative work on carbon offset integrity has been widely reported in the media, including the 7:30 Report, The Australian Financial Review, an Honest Government Ad” by The Juice Media, and has prompted calls for an independent inquiry.
My work on biodiversity offset policy directly informed domestic and international policy, including the Australian Government’s Offset Assessment Guide (2012) and the IUCN Biodiversity Offsets Policy (2016).
My work on the economics of land-based carbon offsets (aka carbon farming) informed the establishment of the AUD 500 million Land Restoration Fund in Queensland.
My paper on how early-career researchers (ECRs) can achieve policy impact (Evans and Cvitanovic, 2018) was featured in several blogs and online news outlets, including a Nature News career feature. This paper is the top-rated contribution in Palgrave Communications on Altmetric (score of 568).
My research on deforestation (Evans 2016) was featured in the 2016 Australian State of the Environment Report. You can download the data here and here.
My work with colleagues from CSIRO has directly informed the Australian Department of the Environment’s risk-based approach for prioritising monitoring and compliance efforts
My Honours research on threats to Australian species was featured in the 2011 Australian State of the Environment Report.

My Research Supervision

Supervision keywords

sustainable finance

environmental policy

biodiversity & conservation

carbon offsets

Areas of supervision

I'm available to supervise HDR candidates who wish to pursue research in the areas of environmental policy, governance and finance, and more specifically in the areas of biodiversity conservation and climate change. Please go to my website for further information.

Currently supervising

The social construction of property rights across governance scales and the implications for biodiversity conservation in Australia
Making businesses work for biodiversity: Decision-support tools for integrating biodiversity conservation into the finance sector
Governance arrangements, use and availability of economic and financial information for decision making on ecosystems investments
An integrated basin-scale blue-green algae strategy for the 21st century.
Nature finance

Completed supervision

Dr Toiaba Binta Taher (Doctor of Philosophy), Primary supervisor (with Professor Catherine Althaus). Thesis title: Practices of participatory conservation: an ethnographic investigation in the Sundarbans of Bangladesh

My Engagement

Recent submissions

Submission to the Senate Inquiry into Australia’s extinction crisis. pdf
Submission to the Senate Inquiry into Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Legislation Amendment (Safety and Other Measures) Bill 2024 [Provisions] pdf
Submission to the Nature Repair Market Bill. pdf
ANU-UNSW research team submission to the Chubb Review. Link
Submission to a proposed National Biodiversity Market. pdf
Response to Question on Notice in the Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee Inquiry into the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Standards and Assurance) Bill 2021 (“the Bill”) pdf
Submission to the Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee Inquiry into the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Standards and Assurance) Bill 2021 pdf
Submission to the Interim Report of the Independent Review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). pdf
Submission to the Independent Review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. pdf

Webinars and videos

Federal Govt proposes certificate scheme to promote biodiversity. ABC News.
What are biodiversity credits and how do they work? ABC News.
Honest Government Ad | Carbon Credits & Offsets. YouTube
Webinar on The NSW State of the Environment Report with Minister James Griffin MP. 21st March 2022. Coalition for Conservation. YouTube.
Closing the biodiversity finance gap with private investment: how is it working on the ground? 61st Annual Ecological Society of Australia conference. Online, 22-26 November 2021. Video.
Innovative approaches to mobilize finance for conservation: how does it work on the ground? The IORA Indian Ocean Blue Carbon Hub. Webinar, 6th October 2021. YouTube.

Media and comment

2023

Federal Govt proposes certificate scheme to promote biodiversity. ABC News. March 2023.
Australia introduces nature repair market legislation to parliament. Carbon Pulse. March 2023.
‘Like the subprime mortgage crisis’: Most of Australia’s carbon credits are junk, experts say. Crikey. March 2023.
Losing the natural world comes with major risks for your super fund and bank. The Conversation. February 2023.
Labor plan for nature repair market rehashes old proposal and risks failure, experts say. The Guardian. February 2023.
Losing the natural world comes with major risks for your super fund and bank. The Conversation. February 2023.
Traded biodiversity 'credits' are key to Labor's environmental plans, but critics are not convinced. ABC News. January 2023.
What are biodiversity credits and how do they work? ABC News. January 2023.

2022

‘Abysmal’ number of Australian banks and super funds have policies to mitigate environmental risks: report. The Guardian. December 2022.
Why a biodiversity environment market doesn’t work. The Saturday Paper. December 2022.
Forest regeneration that earned multimillion-dollar carbon credits resulted in fewer trees, analysis finds. The Guardian. November 2022.
The government hopes private investors will help save nature. Here’s how its scheme could fail. The Conversation. October 2022.
Labor’s plan to save threatened species is an improvement – but it’s still well short of what we need. The Conversation. October 2022.
Biodiversity market has huge potential for rorting and greenwashing, expert. Canberra Times. October 2022.
Catastrophe, pollution, dirty subsidies and nature capitalism: another week in the climate crisis. The Guardian. September 2022.
Albanese outlines plan for nature restoration market prompting calls for more urgent action. The Guardian. August 2022.
Albanese parrots a pro-coal talking point as Ampol offers ‘carbon neutral’ petrol. The Guardian. July 2022.
We blew the whistle on Australia’s central climate policy. Here’s what a new federal government probe must fix. The Conversation. June 2022.
Story on the previous government’s decision to scrap recovery plans. Triple J Hack. June 2022 (from 13:03).
Soaring demand for trees exposes carbon credits ‘minefield’ in fight to offset Australia’s emissions. ABC News. June 2022.
How to make space for species. Axios. June 2022.
More than 40 per cent of Earth’s land surface ‘must be conserved to maintain biodiversity’. ABC News. June 2022.
Native species are in crisis, but you wouldn’t know it from the election campaign. The Age. May 2022.
Can you really carbon offset a power station? Sure – but it’s unimpressive. The Guardian. February 2022.
Australian government ‘aggravating extinction’ through land-clearing approvals, analysis finds. The Guardian. March 2022.

2021

Country, culture and nature-based solutions key to reducing emissions. UNSW Canberra. November 2021.
Parks credits bill will underpin fossil fuel expansion, biodiversity expert warns. Footprint News. November 2021.
Hopes and doubts for public sector transferring skills into post-COVID world. The Mandarin. November 2021.
Millions of junk credits issued for Australian forests that already exist. Radio National Breakfast. November 2021.
Carbon offsetting: does it actually work? The Age. November 2021
Climate-contrary Nationals, strawman arguments and rewriting Australia’s Kyoto history. The Guardian. October 2021
Compensation revelations. ABC News. September 2021
Warragamba Dam’s EIS shows New South Wales government’s efforts to avoid compensation. ABC News. September 2021
Destroying vegetation along fences and roads could worsen our extinction crisis — yet the NSW government just allowed it. The Conversation. September 2021
Coal companies allowed to delay environmental offsets on NSW mines for up to 10 years. The Guardian. September 2021
Taking care of business: the private sector is waking up to nature’s value. The Conversation. February 2021.
It’s not too late to save them: 5 ways to improve the government’s plan to protect threatened wildlife. The Conversation.

2020

Navigating Uncertainty - S01E12 - Why Biodiversity Loss Is A Growing Risk For Business. UNSW Canberra Podcasts. Spotify Podcasts. SoundCloud. December 2020.
Brisbane 'throws ratepayer money overseas' to be carbon neutral’: Councillor. Brisbane Times. 26th November 2020.
Why ignoring biodiversity loss is an increasingly risky business. The Canberra Times. September 2020.
'We are relying on a pinky promise’: The problem with the Government moving its environmental powers to states. ABC News. 13th September 2020.
Ask an Expert: What is the EPBC Act? UNSW Ask An Expert. 4th September 2020.
New environment law framework could give States too much power. 2SER 107.3. 2nd September 2020
Environmental changes should not be rushed to become law: experts. The Wire community radio. 24th July 2020.
The magic of the market won’t help the environment unless government also takes responsibility. The Guardian. July 2020.
National cabinet just agreed to big changes to environment law. Here’s why the process shouldn’t be rushed. The Conversation. July 2020.
Morrison government urged to fix flawed environmental offsets leaving threatened species at risk. The Guardian. 27th June 2020.
Scientists fear Coalition’s push to deregulate environmental approvals will lead to extinction crisis. The Guardian. 16th June 2020.
Overestimating rate of biodiversity loss can have unexpected consequences. UNSW Canberra. May 2020

2019

A calculated approach. UQ Research Impact Stories. 24th March 2019.

2018

Help to shape policy with your science. Nature 560: 671. August 2018.
Four personality traits ECRs can foster to help impact policy and practice. Research to Action. August 2018.
Early Career Researchers: So You Want To Make A Difference? Particle. August 2018.
So you want to make an impact? Some practical suggestions for early-career researchers. London School of Economics Impact Blog. July 2018.
Land-clearing wipes out $1bn taxpayer-funded emissions gains. The Guardian. 29th May 2018.

2017

Land clearing rates in Queensland on par with Brazil, new study finds. ABC News. June 2017.
Australia’s species need an independent champion. The Conversation, October 2017.
The plan to protect wildlife displaced by the Hume Highway has failed. The Conversation, May 2017.
Land clearing on the rise as legal ‘thinning’ proves far from clear-cut. The Conversation, June 2017.
Hume Highway duplication project failed to protect threatened species, ANU study finds. ABC News. May 2017.

2016 and earlier

Queensland farmers protest proposed changes to tree clearing laws. Interview on Radio National. August 2016.
Australia needs better policy to end the alarming increase in land clearing. The Conversation, August 2016.
Queensland moves to control land clearing: other states need to follow. The Conversation, May 2016.
Assisted regeneration could make farmers money. ANU News. 17th March 2015.
Can we offset biodiversity losses? Brisbane Times and SBS News Australia. May 2013.
Can we offset biodiversity losses? The Conversation, May 2013.
Australia’s biodiversity under increasing threat from multiple fronts. UQ News. April 2011.
No refuge: When a ‘protected area’ is not really protected. The Conversation, September 2011.
Australia set for tidal wave of wildlife extinction: WWF. WWF-Australia. November 2008