Dr Claudia Benham
ARC DECRA Senior Research Fellow
School of the Environment
+61 7 334 61647
Steele Building (3), Room 259A
07 334 61647
07 334 61647
Researcher biography
Dr Claudia Benham is an environmental social scientist working on coastal and marine ecosystems. Her research examines the intersections between environmental change, resource development, human wellbeing and governance in coastal regions of northern Australia and the Pacific. As part of this, her work examines the processes and outcomes of environmental governance in these settings, including deliberative and community-based approaches. Claudia has an interdisciplinary background in the social and ecological sciences, and brings this perspective to bear on her work. She previously worked for the UQ Global Change Institute and the Australian Department of Environment.
Keywords: Public policy; Seagrasses; Gender; Unconventional gas; Great Barrier Reef
Publications
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
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
Bell‐James, Justine, Foster, Rose, Frohlich, Miguel, Archibald, Carla, Benham, Claudia, Evans, Megan, Fidelman, Pedro, Morrison, Tiffany, Rolim Baggio, Liza, Billings, Peter and Shumway, Nicole (2024). Not all conservation “policy” is created equally: When does a policy give rise to legally binding obligations?. Conservation Letters. doi: 10.1111/conl.13054
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
Cooke, Anna, Benham, Claudia, Butt, Nathalie and Dean, Julie (2024). Ecological grief literacy: Approaches for responding to environmental loss. Conservation Letters, 17 (3) e13018, 1-9. doi: 10.1111/conl.13018
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