Associate Professor Pedro Fidelman

Principal Research Fellow

Centre for Policy Futures
Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences

Overview

Pedro Fidelman leads strategic projects in the Social and Environmental Sustainability theme at the UQ Centre for Policy Futures, including the Centre's contribution to the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program and Blue Economy Cooperative Research Centre.

Pedro’s research focuses on environmental policy and governance with an emphasis on the role of institutions (e.g., regulations, norms, and decision-making processes) in addressing global environmental change (e.g., over-exploitation of natural resources, biodiversity loss and climate change). He is also interested in the process of policy making and associated social and political actors and contextual factors.

His research is predominantly empirical, drawing on case studies in the context of marine and coastal social-ecological systems, climate change adaptation and natural resources management in Australia, Southeast Asia and Brazil. Current research includes governance, policy and regulatory implications of using novel and emerging technologies for environmental outcomes, and policy and regulatory innovation in the context of environmental, social and technological change.

Prior to joining UQ, Pedro held research positions in Brazil (e.g., University of Brasilia) and Australia (e.g., ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and Sustainability Research Centre of the University of the Sunshine Coast).

Research Interests

  • Governance, policy and regulatory innovation
    Governance, policy and regulatory innovation in the context of environmental, technological and social change.
  • Policy and regulatory implications of emerging technologies
    Policy and regulatory implications of new and emerging technologies for environmental outcomes.
  • Environmental policy and governance
    Including, but not limited to, marine and coastal social-ecological systems, natural resource management, climate change and water management.
  • Policy and institutional analysis
    Policy and institutional analysis particularly in relation (but not limited) to global environmental change
  • Climate change adaptation
    Policy and strategies to enhance the capacity of government, industry and community to respond and adapt to climate change.
  • Marine and coastal social-ecological systems
    Governance of marine and coastal social-ecological systems, biodiversity, conservation, restoration and blue economy.
  • Institutional theory
    New institutionalism, Ostrom's school of political economy, institutional analysis and development framework

Research Impacts

Pedro Fidelman has contributed expertise to several national and international initiatives in his field, serving as cluster co-leader (climate change) for the Ocean Governance Taskforce of the Earth System Governance Project, theme co-leader (marine and coastal governance) for the Centre for Marine Socioecology, member of the Future Earth Australia Oceans and Coasts National Strategy Expert Working Group, lead author (oceans and coastal policy) for UNEP's Global Environment Outlook 6 and coordinating lead author (oceans and coasts) for the Global Environment Outlook 7.

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, University of Wollongong

Publications

  • Shumway, Nicole, Foster, Rose, Head, Brian and Fidelman, Pedro (2023). Policy solutions needed for the future of coral reefs. BioScience, 73 (11), 1-3. doi: 10.1093/biosci/biad092

  • Turschwell, M. P., Fulton, E. A., Melbourne-Thomas, J., Lacharité, M., Hayes, K. R., Wood, G., Evans, K., Hatton MacDonald, D., Dambacher, J., Bustamante, R. H., Abbassi, R., Fidelman, P. and Brown, C. J. (2023). A synthesis of approaches to support integrated assessments of hazards for the emerging Blue Economy. Marine Policy, 155 105696, 1-10. doi: 10.1016/j.marpol.2023.105696

  • Turschwell, Mischa P., Brown, Christopher J., Lacharité, Myriam, Melbourne-Thomas, Jess, Hayes, Keith R., Bustamante, Rodrigo H., Dambacher, Jeffrey M., Evans, Karen, Fidelman, Pedro, Hatton MacDonald, Darla, Van Putten, Ingrid, Wood, Graham, Abdussamie, Nagi, Bates, Mathilda, Blackwell, Damien, D’Alessandro, Steven, Dutton, Ian, Ericson, Jessica A., Frid, Christopher LJ, McDougall, Carmel, Lea, Mary-Anne, Rissik, David, Trebilco, Rowan and Fulton, Elizabeth A. (2023). Co-designing a multi-criteria approach to ranking hazards to and from Australia’s emerging offshore blue economy. Environmental Science and Policy, 147, 154-168. doi: 10.1016/j.envsci.2023.06.008

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Grants

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Supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy

  • Doctor Philosophy

  • Doctor Philosophy

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Publications

Book Chapter

  • Fidelman, Pedro (2022). Coral reefs: the case for ecological reflexivity. Routledge handbook of marine governance and global environmental change. (pp. 175-182) edited by Paul G. Harris. Abingdon, Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge/Taylor and Francis. doi: 10.4324/9781315149745-19

  • Fidelman, Pedro (2021). Assessing the adaptive capacity of collaborative governance institutions. Adaptiveness: changing earth system governance. (pp. 69-82) edited by Riyanti Djalante and Bernd Siebenhüner. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/9781108782180.006

  • Baker, Elaine, Boileau, Pierre, Fidelman, Pedro and Rice, Jake (2019). Changing the path we are on. The blue book, Copernicus for a sustainable ocean . (pp. 107-109) edited by Cécile Thomas-Courcoux. France: Mercator Ocean International .

  • Fidelman, Pedro (2019). Climate change in the Coral Triangle: enabling institutional adaptive capacity. Climate change and ocean governance: politics and policy for threatened seas. (pp. 274-289) edited by Paul G. Harris. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/9781108502238.017

  • Mangalagiu, Diana, Baker, Elaine, Fidelman, Pedro, Goncalves, Leandra Regina, Harris, Peter, Hollway, James, Kim, Rakhyun E., Rice, Jake and Alkhatlan, AlAnoud (2019). Oceans and coastal policy. Global Environment Outlook – GEO-6: healthy planet, healthy people. (pp. 348-371) edited by Paul Ekins, Joyeeta Gupta and Pierre Boileau. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/9781108627146.020

  • Jacob, Klaus, King, Peter, Fidelman, Pedro, Goncalves, Leandra Regina, Hollway, James, Sewerin, Sebastian and Chenmin, He (2019). Policy theory and practice. Global Environment Outlook – GEO-6: healthy planet, healthy people. (pp. 282-299) edited by Paul Ekins, Joyeeta Gupta and Pierre Boileau. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/9781108627146.017

  • Sousa jr, W.C. and Fidelman, P.I.J. (2009). The technopolitics of water in Brazil. Water governance in Brazil: a multidisciplinary perspective. (pp. 195-211) edited by Ribeiro, W.C.. Sao Paulo, Brazil: Annablumme.

  • Fidelman, P.I.J. (2008). Challenges to decentralization of watershed management: the case of New South Wales, Australia. Watershed management: concepts and experiences. (pp. 170-184) edited by S.V. Menon and P.A. Pillai. Hyderabad, India: ICFAI University Press.

Journal Article

Conference Publication

Other Outputs

Grants (Administered at UQ)

PhD and MPhil Supervision

Current Supervision