Joshua Cinner, Ph.D.

Research

Joshua Cinner is a professor of geography for the University of Sydney. He was previously a professorial research fellow for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, headquartered at James Cook University in Australia. Cinner used his Pew fellowship to assess coral “bright spots,” or areas where reef ecosystems are faring better than expected given their environmental conditions and proximity to human impacts. His research helped uncover some of the social, economic, and political conditions that made these areas possible, and may inform policies for more sustainable reef governance in other parts of the world. Earth’s coral reefs are rapidly degrading, and their decline is severely diminishing the well-being of coastal communities dependent on the goods and services that the marine environment provides. Cinner conducted a first-of-its-kind global analysis to identify new bright spots by examining patterns across areas of the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans. By interviewing fishermen, traders, officials, researchers, community leaders, and managers, Cinner identified common socioeconomic or institutional conditions that can inform positive policy change. To learn more about Cinner, read his bio.