Emma Stewart

Professor Emma Stewart is a distinguished academic at Lincoln University's Department of Tourism, Sport & Society within the Faculty of Environment, Society & Design. She currently serves as Associate Dean (Research) and has over 20 years of experience researching the human dimensions of environmental change, with particular expertise in polar tourism and climate-sensitive nature-based settings. As a human geographer, she bridges social and natural sciences through interdisciplinary collaborations with sea-ice modellers, glaciologists, climate scientists, and biologists.

• PhD in Human Geography, University of Calgary, Canada
• Post-Graduate Certificate in Education Development, University of Glamorgan, UK
• Masters in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, Lincoln University, New Zealand
• BA(Hons), Leeds Metropolitan University, UK

Professor Stewart's research focuses on the implications of bio-physical change for society, particularly in polar, coastal, and high mountain environments. Her work has been instrumental in understanding tourism adaptation to climate change, with over 50 peer-reviewed publications. She is a core member of the UN World Meteorological Organization's Polar Prediction Project and her research has been cited as evidence in multiple Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports. Her research interests span environmental management, tourism impacts, human geography, and tourism forecasting, with special emphasis on climate action and life on land as aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Analysis of Professor Stewart's recent publications reveals a strong trend toward interdisciplinary polar research that integrates social science perspectives with climate science. Her work increasingly focuses on the practical application of weather, water, ice, and climate information services in polar regions, climate change adaptation frameworks for tourism, and sustainable management of polar tourism. The publications demonstrate a clear evolution from foundational polar tourism research toward more applied studies addressing climate adaptation, decision-making processes, and sustainable tourism practices in sensitive environments.

• Research Associate at the Arctic Institute of North America (AINA) since 2009
• Core member of UN WMO Polar Prediction Project's SERA task team
• Multiple publications cited as evidence in IPCC reports
• Invited advisor to New Zealand government on Antarctic tourism management

Professor Stewart has supervised numerous postgraduate students across diverse research topics including climate change adaptation for tourism businesses, community resilience, outdoor recreation, and polar tourism. Her research is supported by international collaborations and has influenced policy development through her advisory roles with New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Antarctic and Southern Ocean Unit. She actively contributes to the International Polar Tourism Research Network as a steering committee member and serves on editorial boards for leading tourism journals including the Journal of Sustainable Tourism and The Polar Journal.