![Dr Alec Thornton](https://api.research.unsw.edu.au/sites/default/files/images/profile/Uj%25xIasuSf2aEhYCAFabsQ_thumb_2dda.jpg)
Dr Alec Thornton
PhDDevelopment Studies (2006) University of Sussex (UK)
MA Rural Development (2002) University of Sussex (UK)
BA Political Science/International Relations (2000) University of Massachusetts, Boston (USA)
Dr Alec Thornton is a Research Analyst at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research(Germany). He has a PhD in Development Studies from the University of Sussex, UK.Since 2021, Alec is an Honorary Senior Lecturer in Geography in the School of Scienceat Canberra.
Alec is aResearch to Practice Associate, with the Institute for Global Development (IGD) at Sydney. Previously, he was Academic Co-Lead for Africa with the IGD. He is also aSenior Research Associate held jointly betweenthe School of Anthropology and Development Studies, as well asthe School of Tourism at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa.
Alec specialises in Participatory and Sustainable Livelihoods approaches to monitoring and evaluations of food security, rural and urban agriculture and has widely published these topics in empirical case studies located in Uganda, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Zambia, as well as in Australia, Germany and the USA. He is Honorary Senior Lecturer in Geography at Canberra and Research and Practice Associate at the Institute for Global Development (IGD) at Sydney. He is also Senior Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg, in the School of Humanities and the School of Tourism & Hospitality.
Alec is located inBerlin, Germany.
Specialties: participatory research, rural-urban migration, sustainable livelihoods, food security, food systems governance, urban and rural agriculture.
Editorial boards: (2019-present); Australasian Review of African Studies (2015-2017); Urban Forum (2010-2016); Journal of Applied Geography (2010-2015).
- Publications
- Media
- Grants
- Awards
- Research Activities
- Engagement
- Teaching and Supervision
Australia Africa Universities Network (AAUN)2019 Partnership and Research Development Fund Award
Project: Integrating Urban Green Infrastructure and Food Security for Economic Development in African Cities
University of Western Australia FABLE Research Collaboration Awards(2019-2020)
ʰ:Creating Smarter Cities in East Africa
Australian Government DFAT New Colombo Mobility Grant (2016-2019)
Project: Samoa Field School for Geography Research Methods
Dr Alec Thornton is a Research Analyst in the B-EPICC Project at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. He conducts research and networking efforts in Brazil and Ethiopia, with a focus on land and forest change and their impact upon migration movements, as well as potential conflict.
Institute for Global Development ( Sydney) Academic Co-Lead for Africa
Member: African Studies Association of Australasia and the Pacific (Vice President 2011-2017)
Member:Agri-Food Research Network
Member: Urban Agriculture Europe / European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST)
Editorial board: Applied Geography(past)
Editorial board:Urban Forum (past)
Editorial board:Australasian Review of African Studies (past)
Editorial board: Sustainability (current)