Brian Harrison Walker is a scientist specialized in ecological

sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...

and resilience in socio-ecological systems.

Education and academic career

Brian Walker began his scientific career in

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

(now Zimbabwe), where his research was on ecosystem function and dynamics in tropical savannas and rangelands. He earned his Ph.D. in the University of Saskatchewan, in Canada in 1968. He was a Lecturer and Senior Lecturer at the University of Rhodesia, Rhodesia from 1969 until 1975. After that he was a professor at the University of the Witwatersrand, before moving to Australia in 1985. There he became Chief of the former

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentar ...

Division of Wildlife and Ecology (now CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems) from 1985-1999. He has also made significant contributions to global change science. Serving as the Chair of the Scientific Steering Committee of the IGBP core project on Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems (GCTE), from 1990–1997 and Chair of the Board, Beijer International Institute of Ecological Economics,

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...

from 1999-2002. He is currently a Research Fellow with CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems and is also Program Director and Chair of the Board of the Resilience Alliance, an international research group working on sustainability of social-ecological systems.

Publications

Brian Walker has co-authored two books and published more than 160 scientific papers. He also edited and co-edited nine books. ;Books *2006 with David Salt: ''Resilience thinking: Sustaining ecosystems and people in a changing world'', Island Press *2012 with David Salt: ''Resilience practice: Building capacity to absorb disturbance and maintain function'', Island Press His most cited papers include: *1981 with D. Ludwig,

C. S. Holling Crawford Stanley "Buzz" Holling, (December 6, 1930 – August 16, 2019) was a Canadian ecologist, and Emeritus Eminent Scholar and Professor in Ecological Sciences at the University of Florida. Holling was one of the conceptual founders of eco ...

and R Peterman. "Stability of semi-arid savanna grazing systems" '' Journal of Ecology'' Vol 69 : 473-498. *1985 with W.T. Knoop "Interactions of woody and herbaceous vegetation in southern African savanna" in ''Journal of Ecology'' Vol 73 : 235-253. *1989 with M. Westoby I. Noy-Meir. "Opportunistic management for rangelands not at equilibrium. in ''Journal of Range Management'' Vol 42(4) : 266-274. *1992 "Biodiversity and ecological redundancy" ''Conservation Biology'' Vol 6: 18-23. *2001 with M. Scheffer, S.R. Carpenter, J. Foley, and C. Folke. "Catastrophic shifts in ecosystems" in '' Nature'' Vol 413: 591-596.

Awards

In 1999, Brian Walker received the Ecological Society of Australia's Gold Medal for his work on ecology of tropical savannahs and rangelands. In 2018, Brian Walker has been awarded the

Blue Planet Prize The recognises outstanding efforts in scientific research or applications of science that contribute to solving global environmental problems. The prize was created by the Asahi Glass Foundation in 1992, the year of the Rio Earth Summit, and ...

for 2018, along with Professor Malin Falkenmark. The award goes to individuals or organizations that make "outstanding achievements in scientific research and in so doing help to solve global environmental problems." In 2020 Walker was made an Officer (AO) in the General Division of The Order of Australia for "distinguished service to science, particularly to ecosystem ecology and research, and to professional scientific bodies."

References

External links

Profile on CSIRO webpageResilience Alliance Beijer Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Brian Australian ecologists Living people Zimbabwean people of British descent White Rhodesian people Canadian emigrants to Australia Systems ecologists University of Natal alumni University of Saskatchewan alumni University of Zimbabwe faculty Year of birth missing (living people) Officers of the Order of Australia