Dr Claudia Benham

Lecturer in Environmental Management and Planning Policy and ARC DECRA Fellow

School of the Environment

c.benham@uq.edu.au

Researcher biography

Claudia is an environmental social scientist specialising in environmental governance and its applications in coastal and marine social-ecological systems. Her current research uses both quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the relationships between environmental change, resource development, human wellbeing and governance. Claudia’s work includes a key emphasis on the processes and outcomes of environmental governance, including deliberative and community-based approaches, with the goal of improving outcomes for people and the environment. Before joining CBCS at The University of Queensland, Claudia was a Lecturer in Environmental Management at James Cook University, Townsville, and a Policy Officer in the Australian Government Department of Environment. She has an interdisciplinary background in the social and ecological sciences, and works with natural and social scientists, as well as government and non-government organisations. She is currently working on projects in northern Australia and the Asia-Pacific.

Featured projects	Duration
2021 CBCS small grant scheme awardees announced
Dr Claudia Benham publishes a book chapter in edited volume on fossil fuel export
Why do people volunteer in conservation programs? Dr Claudia Benham investigates
Claudia Benham wins an ABC Top 5 residency

Publications

Book Chapters (3)

Journal Articles (20)

Conference Paper (1)

Data Collection (1)

Research Report (1)

Book Chapters

Benham, Claudia F. (2022). Impact geographies of gas terminal development in the northern Australian context: insights from Gladstone and Darwin. Public responses to fossil fuel export: exporting energy and emissions in a time of transition. (pp. 195-208) edited by Hilary Boudet and Shawn Hazboun. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-824046-5.00009-6

Critchell, K., Bauer-Civiello, A., Benham, C., Berry, K., Eagle, L., Hamann, M., Hussey, K. and Ridgway, T. (2019). Plastic pollution in the coastal environment: current challenges and future solutions. Coasts and estuaries: the future. (pp. 595-609) edited by Eric Wolanski, John W. Day, Michael Elliott and Ramesh Ramachandran. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-814003-1.00034-4

Journal Articles

Benham, Claudia and Hoerst, Doortje (2024). What role do social-ecological factors play in ecological grief?: Insights from a global scoping review. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 93 102184, 102184. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2023.102184

Shum, Edith, Benham, Claudia, Jones, Karina and Ariel, Ellen (2021). Understanding people who volunteer with marine turtles: motives and values for engagement in conservation. Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 28 (3), 1-19. doi: 10.1080/10871209.2021.2018737

Sheaves, M., Waltham, N. J., Benham, C., Bradley, M., Mattone, C., Diedrich, A., Sheaves, J., Sheaves, A., Hernandez, S., Dale, P., Banhalmi-Zakar, Z. and Newlands, M. (2021). Restoration of marine ecosystems: understanding possible futures for optimal outcomes. Science of the Total Environment, 796 148845, 148845. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148845

Hernandez, Stephanie, Benham, Claudia, Miller, Rachel L., Sheaves, Marcus and Duce, Stephanie (2021). What drives modern protected area establishment in Australia?. Conservation Science and Practice, 3 (10) e501. doi: 10.1111/csp2.501

Sheaves, Marcus, Abrantes, Katya, Barnett, Adam, Benham, Claudia, Dale, Patricia, Mattone, Carlo, Sheaves, Alison, Waltham, Nathan and Bradley, Michael (2020). The consequences of paradigm change and poorly validated science: the example of the value of mangroves to fisheries. Fish and Fisheries, 21 (5) faf.12479, 1067-1075. doi: 10.1111/faf.12479

Miller, Rachel Lynn, Marsh, Helene, Benham, Claudia and Hamann, Mark (2020). Stakeholder engagement in the governance of marine migratory species: barriers and building blocks. Endangered Species Research, 43, 1-19. doi: 10.3354/esr01049

Benham, Claudia F. and Verbrugge, Laura N. H. (2019). A Word from the New Book Review Editors. Society and Natural Resources, 33 (3), 307-308. doi: 10.1080/08941920.2019.1699295

Miller, Rachel L., Marsh, Helene, Benham, Claudia and Hamann, Mark (2019). A framework for improving the cross‐jurisdictional governance of a marine migratory species. Conservation Science and Practice, 1 (8) e58, e58. doi: 10.1111/csp2.58

Diedrich, Amy, Benham, Claudia, Pandihau, Lina and Sheaves, Marcus (2019). Social capital plays a central role in transitions to sportfishing tourism in small-scale fishing communities in Papua New Guinea. Ambio, 48 (4), 385-396. doi: 10.1007/s13280-018-1081-4

Benham, Claudia F., Beavis, Sara G. and Jackson, Emma L. (2019). Tolerance of tropical seagrasses Zostera muelleri and Halophila ovalis to burial: Toward an understanding of threshold effects. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 218, 131-138. doi: 10.1016/j.ecss.2018.11.005

Marshall, Nadine, Adger, William Neil, Benham, Claudia, Brown, Katrina, Curnock, Matthew I., Gurney, Georgina G., Marshall, Paul, Pert, Petina L. and Thiault, Lauric (2019). Reef Grief: investigating the relationship between place meanings and place change on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Sustainability Science, 14 (3), 579-587. doi: 10.1007/s11625-019-00666-z

Marshall, Nadine A., Thiault, Lauric, Beeden, Ally, Beeden, Roger, Benham, Claudia, Curnock, Matt I., Diedrich, Amy, Gurney, Georgina, Jones, Lindsey and Marshall, Paul A. (2019). Our environmental value orientations influence how we respond to climate change. Frontiers in Psychology, 10 (APR) 938. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00938

Benham, Claudia F. and Hussey, Karen E. (2018). Mainstreaming deliberative principles in Environmental Impact Assessment: current practice and future prospects in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Environmental Science and Policy, 89, 176-183. doi: 10.1016/j.envsci.2018.07.018

Benham, Claudia F. (2017). Aligning public participation with local environmental knowledge in complex marine social-ecological systems. Marine Policy, 82, 16-24. doi: 10.1016/j.marpol.2017.04.003

Benham, Claudia F. (2017). Understanding local community attitudes toward industrial development in the Great Barrier Reef region World Heritage Area: are environmental impacts perceived to overshadow economic benefits?. Natural Resources Forum, 41 (1), 42-54. doi: 10.1111/1477-8947.12112

Benham, Claudia F., Beavis, Sara G., Hendry, Rebecca A. and Jackson, Emma L. (2016). Growth effects of shading and sedimentation in two tropical seagrass species: implications for port management and impact assessment. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 109 (1), 461-470. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.05.027

Benham, Claudia F. and Daniell, Katherine A. (2016). Putting transdisciplinary research into practice: a participatory approach to understanding change in coastal social-ecological systems. Ocean and Coastal Management, 128, 29-39. doi: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2016.04.005

Benham, Claudia (2016). Change, opportunity and grief: understanding the complex social-ecological impacts of Liquefied Natural Gas development in the Australian coastal zone. Energy Research and Social Science, 14, 61-70. doi: 10.1016/j.erss.2016.01.006

Benham, C. F., Beavis, S. G. and Hussey, K. (2015). The cost of collaboration: how 'Caring for our Country' has shaped regional Natural Resource Management in Australia. Australasian Journal of Environmental Management, 22 (3), 285-297. doi: 10.1080/14486563.2014.976847

Benham, C. F., Hussey, K. and Beavis, S. (2014). Planning for Success: Collaborative water management and planning in an Australian river catchment. Australian Journal of Water Resources, 18 (1), 1-14. doi: 10.7158/W13-027.2014.18.1

Conference Paper

Daniell, Katherine A., Nabavi, Ehsan and Benham, Claudia F. (2017). Politics of innovation and the spirit of justice. Workshop on Justice, Fairness and Equity in Natural Resource Management, Canberra Australia, 12-13 October 2015. Clayton South, VIC Australia: CSIRO Publishing.

Data Collection

Benham, Claudia (2024). Townsville Citizen's Forum - deliberative 'mini public' - survey data. The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/1c0170b

Research Report

Hobman, Elizabeth V., Stone-Jovicich, Samantha, Schultz, Tracy, McLean, Kirsten, Benham Claudia, Jones, Natalie and Dean, Angela (2022). Stewardship for the Great Barrier Reef. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: CSIRO. doi: 10.25919/en5v-xm34