Rate My Professor Stewart Lockie

Distinguished Professor Stewart Lockie serves as Professor of Sociology and Director of The Cairns Institute at James Cook University. He holds a Fellowship in the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and is an Adjunct Professor of Sociology at the Australian National University. Prior to joining James Cook University in 2014, he was Head of the School of Sociology at the Australian National University. Professor Lockie has been involved in leadership roles such as Foundation Editor of the journal Environmental Sociology and past President of the International Sociological Association’s Research Committee on Environment and Society. He contributes to advisory bodies including the Wet Tropics Management Authority’s Scientific Advisory Committee and was a founding member of the Cairns-Port Douglas Reef Hub and the Wet Tropics Restoration Alliance. His professional service extends to chairing expert working groups for the Australian Council of Learned Academies on projects such as The Future of Agricultural Technologies and Enhancing Research Capabilities of Universities in Regional, Rural and Remote Areas.

Professor Lockie’s research specializes in environmental sociology, encompassing climate adaptation, regional sustainability transitions, social impact assessment, environmental policy and standards, and resource management in the food and agriculture sectors. Since his appointment at James Cook University, he has secured over AUS$20 million in external grants funding studies on climate adaptation, drought resilience, regional development, and higher education in the Pacific. Key publications include Failure or Reform? Market-Based Policy Instruments for Sustainable Agriculture and Resource Management (Routledge, 2020), Routledge International Handbook of Social and Environmental Change (Routledge, 2013, co-edited with David A. Sonnenfeld and Dana R. Fisher), Risk and Social Theory in Environmental Management (CSIRO Publishing, 2012, co-edited with Thomas Measham), and Agriculture, Biodiversity and Markets: Livelihoods and Agroecology in Comparative Perspective (Earthscan, 2010, co-edited with David Carpenter). His scholarship, with over 11,780 citations, addresses governance of complex social and environmental challenges, including biodiversity conservation, food security, coastal management, and natural hazards. Current projects involve the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program Stakeholder Engagement Sub-Program.