Simon Batterbury is Professor of Environmental Studies in the School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Melbourne, where he has held a permanent position since 2004, advancing from lecturer to senior lecturer, associate professor, and full professor. He earned his BA Honours (First Class) in Human and Physical Geography from the University of Reading in 1985, an MA from Clark University in 1990, and a PhD from Clark University in 1997, with a thesis on the political ecology of environmental management in semi-arid West Africa, focusing on case studies from Burkina Faso. His career includes lectureships at Brunel University (1993-1998) and the London School of Economics (1999-2001), an assistant professorship at the University of Arizona (2001-2004), and a secondment as Director of the University's Office for Environmental Programs (2008-2012), where he oversaw an interdisciplinary Master's program for up to 360 students. From 2017 to 2019, he served as Professor and Chair of Political Ecology at Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, and maintains visiting professorships there. He currently acts as Academic Convenor for the Melbourne Climate Futures doctoral Academy.

Batterbury's research specializations encompass the political ecology of natural resources, environment and development issues in Africa and the Asia-Pacific, adaptation to climate change, and urban bike mobility. He has authored over 100 articles and edited seven collections, including Geographies of New Caledonia-Kanaky: Environments, politics and cultures (Springer, 2024, co-edited with Matthias Kowasch), special issues in World Development on rescaling governance (2006), Global Environmental Change on the African Sahel (2001), and Land Use Policy on land shaping (2001). Since 2002, he has been Editor of the Journal of Political Ecology, handling 30-70 articles annually and producing nearly 900 articles by 2024. Other editorial roles include boards for African Geographical Review (2021-), Pacific Geographies (2015-), and formerly Land Degradation and Development (2005-2019). Awards include the University of Melbourne Excellence Award for Outstanding Graduate Researcher Supervision (A$10,000, 2019) and three Dean's commendations for teaching quality. He has secured research grants since 1992 and supervised numerous PhD students, earning the University's best PhD supervisor award in 2019.

Professional Email: simonpjb@unimelb.edu.au