Carmen Elrick-Barr

Carmen Elrick-Barr serves as an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at The University of Western Australia's School of Agriculture and Environment, with dual affiliations at the UWA Centre for Environmental Economics and Policy and UWA Oceans Institute. Her academic foundation includes a PhD in Human Geography from the University of the Sunshine Coast, focusing on household adaptive capacity in coastal Australia.

• Human Geography, PhD (University of the Sunshine Coast)
• Adjunct Research Fellow, University of the Sunshine Coast (2023-present)
• Associate Editor, Frontiers in Climate: Climate Adaptation (2022-present)
• Vice-Chair, Australian Coastal Society (2021-present)
• Editorial Board Member, Ocean and Coastal Management Journal (2021-present)

Her research program integrates three interconnected themes: vulnerability and adaptive capacity (particularly at household scale), coastal policy and governance, and social values in marine planning. With over ten years of practical experience delivering climate change adaptation support to governments across the Asia-Pacific region, she examines how institutional frameworks, social norms, and power dynamics influence coastal governance for equitable and sustainable outcomes. Her work emphasizes citizen engagement approaches to collectively generate preferred futures through understanding community values and stewardship.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong evolution toward community-centered resilience building, with increasing focus on psychological dimensions of adaptation (hope, wellbeing), innovative stakeholder engagement methods, and governance innovations for social-ecological resilience. Her research spans environmental science, social science, policy studies, and climate adaptation, with particular emphasis on Australian coastal communities and the broader Asia-Pacific region.

• Early Career Researcher Award (2023)
• Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (2023)
• School of Agriculture and Environment Early-Career Research Award (2023)
• Future Earth Coasts Fellow (2020)

Elrick-Barr has secured significant research funding including a $393,664 Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Research Award for building community resilience to coastal hazards in Australia. She has consulted for USAID, UNEP, and the Global Environment Facility on climate adaptation projects across multiple Pacific nations. Her professional leadership extends to chairing the WA Coastal and Marine Community Network and serving as Vice-Chair of the Australian Coastal Society, demonstrating her commitment to bridging research and practice in coastal management.

Her laboratory and team work centers on collaborative research through the UWA Oceans Institute and partnerships with government agencies including the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage, and Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Current projects like 'A new vision for coastal resilience: Engaging communities through art' demonstrate her innovative approach to community-driven adaptation planning.