Lindsay Stringer MBE
Professor

Profile

Biography

My research explores human-environment relationships, particularly in drylands, focusing on:

• The links between livelihoods and land, climate and biodiversity change;
• Science, policy and environmental governance; and
• The practical and policy mechanisms that can advance sustainable
  development.

I take an interdisciplinary approach, grounded in systems thinking, using theories and methods from the natural and social sciences. A systems focus helps my research to develop solutions to specific problems while recognising complexity, feedbacks and the trade-offs and opportunities created by change.

My research projects commonly involve big interdisciplinary teams that bring together researchers from around the world, from disciplines such as geography, ecology, biology, economics, development studies, politics, business and management, international relations, agricultural sciences and engineering. My work is published in journals across multiple fields (see Google Scholar profile for full list of outputs).

I was awarded an MBE in King Charles’s Birthday Honours for Services to Environmental Development (June 2025) and was part of the IPCC and IPBES teams awarded the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity (2022), in recognition of the role of science on the frontline in tackling climate change and biodiversity loss. I received a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award (2017); Women of Achievement Award, University of Leeds (2015); and Philip Leverhulme Prize for Advancing Dryland Sustainability (2013).

Career

I hold a BSc in Physical Geography (2000), an MSc in Environmental Monitoring and
Assessment in Drylands (2001), and a PhD in Geography (2005), all from the
University of Sheffield, UK. I completed a teaching award qualification (2009) and am
a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Research

Overview

My research is international and uses interdisciplinary approaches at the nexus of environmental sustainability and international development. I work largely in dryland, mountain and forest environments. My research broadly crosscuts the following themes:

• Land degradation, desertification and sustainable land management
• Livelihoods, natural resource use, agriculture and farming systems
• Conservation, biodiversity and ecosystem services
• Environmental policy and governance (particularly in relation to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the other Rio Conventions and their scientific bodies
• Food, energy and water
• Climate change adaptation, mitigation and environmental justice
• Synergies and trade-offs between societal groups and sectors
• Participatory approaches, stakeholder engagement and knowledge exchange

External activities

Overview

I am motivated by making a difference through my work, and to do this I build strong relationships with research users and policy platforms across levels, from the local to the international. I am currently a Scientific Advisory Committee member for the Middle East Green Initiative, a multilateral platform of >50 endorsing countries across the Middle East, North Africa, Central and South Asia, and subSaharan Africa that delivers nature-based solutions that tackle climate change, desertification and biodiversity loss. I am also a Panel Member for UNEP’s Dryland Ecosystem Programme II, a Steering Committee member for the International Geographical Union Commission on Geography and Sustainability and play an active role in the Economics of Land Degradation (ELD) Initiative working group. I am a Member of the International Scientific Advisory Board for the Centre for Dryland Agriculture at Bayero University Kano (Nigeria), sit on the Climate Change Advisory Board at the University of Graz (Austria) and on the External Advisory Board for the Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar (CESAM) at the University of Aveiro (Portugal).

Past international roles include co-chairing the T7 task force on Climate and Environment, convening leading research institutes and think tanks across G7 countries to develop research-based policy proposals to inform G7 discussions. I have been a coordinating lead author for several significant science-policy assessments for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and part of the respective Summary for Policymakers negotiating teams. I also chaired the Independent International Task Force for the Dryland Systems Programme of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) from 2014-16.

I review proposals and sit on grant selection panels for several UK and international research funders, review for >50 ISI listed journals, and am an editorial board member for the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A.