Assoc Prof Pedro Fidelman

Pedro Fidelman is an Associate Professor and Principal Research Fellow at the University of Queensland’s Centre for Policy Futures, where he leads research on environmental policy and governance. His work centres on a fundamental question: how do societies, governments, and industries transform environmental issues into manageable, regulatable, and steerable challenges?

Pedro investigates the institutions that support environmental action—including rules, norms, laws, and decision-making processes—and how they influence what can be done, who makes decisions, and under which conditions. His research explores how these institutions shape governance across various issues such as biodiversity loss, climate change, resource management, technological innovation, and development.

His work is based on empirical case studies from Australia, Southeast Asia, and Brazil. His recent projects cover agri-inputs and biopesticides, reef restoration, emerging environmental technologies, blue economy, and catchment and water governance, all emphasising policy and regulatory innovation amid ecological, technological, and social disruptions.

He collaborates closely with governments, industry, communities, and international organisations, contributing to initiatives such as the UN Global Environment Outlook. In these roles, his aim is to help partners understand how governance works in practice, and how it can learn and adapt under conditions of change and uncertainty.