Lisa Palmer

Professor Lisa Palmer is a Professor in Environmental Studies in the School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences within the Faculty of Science at the University of Melbourne. A human geographer, she teaches and researches human-environment relations and Indigenous approaches to environmental and social governance. Her work adopts a critical ecological lens, with a primary focus on south-east Asia, particularly Timor-Leste, and Indigenous Australia. Palmer earned her PhD from Charles Darwin University in 2001, with a thesis titled 'Kakadu as an Aboriginal place: tourism and the construction of Kakadu National Park'. She began her academic career at the University of Melbourne as a Lecturer in the School of Anthropology, Geography and Environmental Studies from 2005 to 2010. She advanced to Associate Professor in 2017 and currently holds the position of Professor. Her research includes an ARC-funded project from 2016 to 2019 on Spiritual Ecologies and Customary Governance in Post-conflict East Timor, conducted in collaboration with Andrew McWilliam from the Australian National University.

Palmer has authored and co-authored numerous influential publications. Key works include the book 'Water Politics and Spiritual Ecology: Custom, environmental governance and development' (2015), which examines hydro-social cycles in East Timor, and 'Honour Among Nations? Treaties and Agreements with Indigenous People' (2004), co-edited with Marcia Langton and Maureen Tehan. Notable articles encompass 'Ambivalent Indigeneities in an independent Timor-Leste: Between the customary and national governance of resources' (2018), 'Land access and livelihoods in post-conflict Timor-Leste: no magic bullets' (2015), 'Subterranean waters and the curation of underground histories in Timor Leste' (2016), and 'Indigenous knowledge and the shackles of wilderness' (2021, PNAS). Her Google Scholar profile records over 3,000 citations. In addition to scholarly output, Palmer is a filmmaker, having produced documentaries such as 'Holding Tightly: Custom and Healing in Timor-Leste' and 'Wild Honey: Caring for bees in a divided land', which explore Indigenous environmental practices through visual ethnography. She contributes to public discourse via symposia on Indigenous knowledge and articles in Pursuit by the University of Melbourne.

Professional Email: lrpalmer@unimelb.edu.au