Irene Bain

Irene Bain is an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the Fenner School of Australian National University, with a career spanning academic and applied work in environment, development, and policy evaluation. Her expertise includes community rights over natural resources, poverty reduction, and climate change adaptation in rural areas.

• Bachelor’s, Honours, and PhD in Human Geography from ANU

She has extensive experience in project design and grant management across China and mainland Southeast Asia, including roles at the Ford Foundation, Asian Development Bank, and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Her research focuses on:

• Community-based natural resource management
• Rural-urban inequality mitigation
• Environmental/social safeguards for development projects

Irene’s work emphasizes integrating learning mechanisms into policy and project monitoring, with a regional focus on pastoral and upland forest areas.