Dr Isabel Sebastian

Publication

• Date
• Type

Research

Current research

My current research is focussed on the project: Pathways towards a 'restorative' Anthropocene: a comparative study of three marginalised or contested land practices, their narratives and regenerative potential across local-global dimensions 

Why are regenerative land practices important?

Regenerative land management practices play a crucial role in averting the catastrophic impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss already disrupting the health and wellbeing of global societies and the biosphere we all depend on. Such practices have the potential to provide place-based solutions that foster the resilience and wellbeing of local communities while providing carbon sequestration, habitat for biodiversity and livelihoods essential for the survival of the land and people.

While some of these practices are relatively new others represent tried and tested cultural traditions and perspectives of caring for places, which local communities relied upon for centuries and millennia. Yet many such practices have either been lost, marginalised or are contested. This situation reduces the diversity of place-based approaches available to local communities and landowners to regenerate land that sustainably support local communities now and their future generations.

What is the project about?

There are many different reasons for the loss, marginalisation or contestation of such regenerative land practices which can be found in the stories, narratives and worldviews that enable or hinder such practices.  This social science study investigates three different land practices in culturally and geographically distinctive settings, including:

• 1) Rewilding initiatives in Wales (UK) in the last decade
• 2) Cultural burning practiced by Indigenous Australians for millennia until colonisation began in 1788
• 3) Closing the mountain [Reedum] a social practice used in the Himalayan mountains of Bhutan for centuries until 1969 when it was replaced by modern forest management approaches

The aim is to learn about the stories, narratives and worldviews that underpin these regenerative practices and to understand where, when and how they are practiced at their best within their socio-ecological contexts and why they are marginalised or contested. Based on these insights and a comparative analysis the aim is to develop pathways from these place-based regenerative practices to national and global institutions and governance systems to move beyond contestation and marginalisation. Outcomes of the research will include sense-making and decision-making  tools for stakeholders and policy-makers to foster a broad range of successful regenerative land management practices. These are intended to represent the pathways towards a 'restorative' Anthropocene.

Past research and academic projects

I have been involved in a number of research projects, other academic activities and conferences over the last decade.

Research projects:

• Nexus Futures - Water, Land, Energy nexus in Luxembourg (2018-19), Luxembourg University
  Post-doc researcher: Contributed to the transdisciplinary project, in particular to the national multi-stakeholder workshops developing a set of future scenarios for Luxembourg's water-land-energy nexus using collaborative-conceptual-systems mapping and a sustainability science approach.
• Research and report on the state of sustainability in the Australian retail and wine sectors - Foreign Trade Association, Brussels, Belgium
  Senior Research Consultant: Secured AUD $10,000 funding and conducted research and delivered report on the state of sustainability in Australia's retail and wine sectors
• Research and report on sustainable supply chain relationships - Stewart Investors
  Senior Research Consultant: Conducted interviews with large retailers in various countries, contributed to the development of a framework for assessing relationship performance and assessed interviewed retailers against framework, contributed to writing of final report
• Research and sustainability strategy - National Institute of Dramatic Arts, Australia 
  Research Principal: Developed the research methodology, coordinated the research and wrote a sustainability strategy for Australia's leading performing arts institute.

Other academic projects:

• Systems Thinking Online Course, University of Technology Sydney (2018 - ongoing)            
  Research Principal: Initiated, co-designed and launched two modules of a systems thinking course; currently developing a third and fourth module; free taster module is open access
• Researcher exchange program - Australia Awards Fellowship (DFAT) (2017 - 2018)
  Senior Research Consultant: Secured AUD $140,000 Australia Awards funding from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to develop and deliver a researcher exchange program building mutual capacity in transdisciplinary research project development between the Royal University of Bhutan and Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF), University of Technology Sydney (UTS)

Conference presentations:

• International Transdisciplinary Conference, global online event, Aug 2021
  The rise of transdisciplinary boundary organisations - a framework and case study from the
  University of Technology Sydney -  Isabel Sebastian, Dena Fam, Jason Prior 
• Sustainability Research Innovation Congress workshop, global online event, Jun 2021 
  Exploring dominant and regenerative narratives and the worldviews they reflect -  Isabel Sebastian, Chris Riedy, Julianna Gwiszcz, Aditi Rosegger, Anthony Cole, Karma Phuntsho, Juan Garzon
  Initiated and coordinated collaborators from six countries to prepare and run a conference workshop at the SRI Congress (2019-2021) 
• International Transdisciplinarity Conference, Gothenburg, Sweden, Sep 2019 
  Intercultural learning for transdisciplinary research collaboration  -  Dorji Thinley, Sonam Wangmo, Ugyen Lhendup, Isabel Sebastian, Katie Ross
  Presented on behalf of the collaborators on the Researcher Exchange between the Royal University of Bhutan and ISF/UTS 
• Gross National Happiness of Business Conference, Thimphu, Bhutan, Nov 2017
  GNH in Business: A Business Approach that Goes Beyond Corporate Social Responsibility -  Isabel Sebastian
• International Association for Business & Society, Costa Rica, Mar 2015
  Business Growth in Well-Being Economies: Insights from Bhutan's Gross National Happiness Economy and the UK's Well-Being Economics Policy - Isabel Sebastian
• International Creative University Network Conference, Bhutan, Apr 2014 
  Engaged research, change-creating research -  Stuart White, Chris Riedy, Isabel Sebastian
  Presented on behalf of the collaborators
• Business Systems Lab – 2nd International Symposium, Rome, Italy, Jan 2014
  Accelerating new economics thinking and practices in the business sector–what are the most effective systems leverage points to create a shift? -  Isabel Sebastian

Biography

Education

• 2013 - 2018 -  PhD Sustainable Futures: Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney, Australia
• 1997 - 1998 -  PGDip Environmental Studies: Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
• 1991 - 1993 - BBus -  Travel & Tourism Management:  Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia

Academic positions

• Oct 2021 to present -  Marie Curie Research Fellow (part time): School of Geography and Planning, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK 
• Oct 2019 to present - Research Principal (part time): Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney, Australia
• Apr 2018 - Sep 2019 - Research Associate (Postdoc): Institute for Education & Society, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg
• Jan 2013 – Mar 2018 - Senior Research Consultant & PhD Candidate:  Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney

Research funding, fellowships and scholarships

• Oct 2021 - Jan 2025
  Awarded Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellowship, European Commission (Grant Agreement Number: 101025327). Pathways towards a 'restorative' Anthropocene: a comparative study of three marginalised land practices, their narratives and regenerative potential across local-global dimensions.  (€224,933.76)
  
• Jun 2017 – Aug 2018    
  Secured Australia Awards Fellowship Funding and developed a three-week exchange program for 13 researchers (including myself) to co-design transdisciplinary research collaboration projects between the Royal University of Bhutan and ISF/UTS, funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs Trade. (AUD $143,000)
• Jan 2013 – Dec 2016
  Awarded Australian Postgraduate Award Scholarship for PhD study, funded by the Australian Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (AUD $87,500)

Selected publications

Sebastian, I., Fam, D., Prior, J., forthcoming. The rise of transdisciplinary 'boundary organisations' within the Australian Tertiary Education sector: Beyond the disciplined university. In B. Viennie Baptista and J. Thompson Klein (Eds.), Dynamics of inter- and trans-disciplinarity within institutions: Cultures and communities, spaces, and timeframes. Routledge

 Sebastian, I . and Jacobs, B., 2020. The emergence of relationality in governance of climate change adaptation, in Robert Brears (Ed) The Palgrave Handbook of Climate Resilient Societies, Palgrave Macmillan

Sebastian, I., 2018. Looking beyond Corporate Social Responsibility through a holistic systems lens – an Eastern and Western focus, PhD thesis in Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney

Sebastian, I. , 2018, Gross National Happiness in Business – a 'beyond Corporate Social Responsibility' approach', Conference Proceedings – Gross National Happiness of Business Conference, Thimphu, Bhutan, 7 – 9 November 2017

Sebastian, I., 2015a. Doing Business in a Well-Being Economy. Reframing the Game: The Transition to a New Sustainable Economy: A Special Issue of Building Sustainable Legacies, 5, p.17. Business School of Lausanne & Greenleaf Publishing

Sebastian, I., 2015b, Business and Corporate Social Responsibility in a Gross National Happiness Economy – Insights from Bhutan, Proceedings of the International Association for Business and Society Conference 2015, Volume 26, pp.24-38, DOI: 10.5840/iabsproc2015263

 McArthur, S. & Sebastian, I. 1998, 'Visitor impact management models – who's done or doing what?'  Proceedings 1998 Annual Ecotourism Conference, Ecotourism Association of Australia, Western Australia

 McArthur, S. & Sebastian, I. 1998, 'Lost in codes, guidelines and accreditation- introducing a tool to measure the sustainability of tourism', Proceedings 1998 Annual Ecotourism Conference, Ecotourism Association of Australia, Western Australia