Rate My Professor Victoria Graham

Dr. Victoria Graham is a conservation scientist specializing in the effectiveness of protected areas and policy instruments for biodiversity conservation amid environmental change. She earned an MPhil from James Cook University in 2017, investigating cost-effective opportunities for minimizing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in Southeast Asia, and a PhD from Macquarie University in 2021, evaluating the effectiveness of protected areas for conserving nature, ecosystem services, and cultural values. With a background in conservation science and economics, she currently holds the position of Research Associate at Macquarie University, working with the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association, and serves as a sessional GIS tutor and guest lecturer in the School of Natural Sciences. She is also a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Cairns Institute, James Cook University, contributing to the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program, and a member of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas.

Graham's research integrates statistical, spatial, and economic modeling to assess protected areas' impacts, incorporate climate refugia into networks, and advance REDD+ strategies. Key publications include 'Southeast Asian protected areas are effective in conserving forest cover and forest carbon stocks compared to unprotected areas' (Scientific Reports, 2021), 'Management resourcing and government transparency are key drivers of biodiversity outcomes in Southeast Asian protected areas' (Biological Conservation, 2021), 'Prioritizing the protection of climate refugia: designing a climate-ready protected area network' (Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 2019), 'A comparative assessment of the financial costs and carbon benefits of REDD+ strategies in Southeast Asia' (Environmental Research Letters, 2016), and 'Embedding biodiversity research into climate adaptation policy and practice' (Global Change Biology, 2021). Her scholarship has achieved an h-index of 6 with over 200 citations. Graham received the Professional Staff Excellence Award in 2018 and contributed to award-winning teams, including the Faculty of Science and Engineering Award for Excellence in Research (2017) and Macquarie University Academic Staff Award for Excellence in Research, Highly Commended (2017), for work on the Biodiversity Node of the NSW Adaptation Hub.