Dr Valerie Hagger

Valerie’s research focusses on coastal ecosystem conservation and restoration.

She holds an AXA-UNESCO research fellowship on mangrove community forestry for resilient coastal livelihoods, endorsed as an action of the UN Ocean Decade. She co-leads a National Environmental Science Program (NESP) project on carbon abatement and biodiversity enhancements from controlling feral ungulates in wetlands in Australia and is developing a framework to measure verified biodiversity benefits in coastal wetland restoration projects in partnership with CSIRO. She recently led a NESP project on coastal wetland restoration opportunities in Australia for blue carbon and co-benefits and an Australian Research Council linkage project to identify social and ecological conditions that enable effective mangrove conservation over global and regional scales with partners at The Nature Conservancy and Healthy Land and Water.

Valerie has published research on the drivers of global mangrove losses and gains and coastal wetland restoration opportunities. She has co-authored international guidelines on mangrove restoration and incorporation of coastal wetlands into national greenhouse gas inventories. Valerie is an experienced ecologist and is a board member of the Society of Ecological Restoration Australasia and a representative of Australia’s Restoration Decade Alliance.