Shannon Hagerman

Shannon Hagerman is a Professor and currently serves as Dean and Vice-Provost pro term at the University of British Columbia's Faculty of Forestry, specifically within the Department of Forest Resources Management. Based at the Forest Sciences Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia, she leads the Social-Ecological Systems Research Group and plays a significant role in academic leadership and environmental research at one of Canada's premier research institutions.

Professor Hagerman's research focuses on the interconnected themes of conservation and social-ecological change, with particular emphasis on human behavioral, institutional and policy elements of managing complex environmental systems in a rapidly changing world. Her work spans several critical environmental issues including:

• Climate Change Adaptation and Transformation, particularly perception and governance of risks associated with novel management interventions for biodiversity and natural resources
• Knowledge Politics at the Science-Policy-Management Interface, examining social and political processes by which credibility of different forms of knowledge is asserted and contested
• Targets-Based Environmental Governance, analyzing the promise and pushback of goal-oriented conservation approaches from the Convention on Biological Diversity to Sustainable Development Goals

Her scholarly output reveals a strong focus on the intersection of social science and environmental management, with particular attention to wildfire governance, Indigenous stewardship, climate adaptation in forestry, and the social dimensions of conservation targets. Recent publications demonstrate increasing emphasis on transformative approaches to fire management, the integration of Indigenous knowledge in ecological restoration, and critical examination of nature-based solutions within conservation policy frameworks.

Professor Hagerman has received significant recognition for her work:

• IUFRO Scientific Achievement Award (2023)
• Killam Accelerator Research Award (2023)
• Killam Teaching Prize (2018)

As an active researcher and mentor, Professor Hagerman invites prospective graduate students interested in applying social science perspectives to conservation challenges. She has secured substantial research funding through multiple principal investigator roles including SSHRC Insight Grants, Genome Canada projects, and initiatives with the Wildlife Conservation Society. Her current projects address novel environmental management interventions, targets-based biodiversity governance, climate adaptation for conservation, and community-based wildfire solutions.

Leading the Social-Ecological Systems Research Group, Professor Hagerman fosters interdisciplinary collaboration focused on understanding and addressing complex conservation dilemmas through the integration of social science perspectives with ecological knowledge. Her team's work emphasizes practical solutions for climate adaptation while critically examining the social dimensions of environmental governance.