Adam Hejnowicz

Adam Hejnowicz

DR

Accepting PhD Students

Personal profile

Biography

I'm an interdisciplinary social-ecological scientist who has worked at the intersection of environment, development and sustainability issues since 2008. Much of my research is applied, policy-facing and transdisciplinary, with a particular focus on the sustainability and governance of complex social-ecological systems, drawing on mixed method approaches and plural epistemologies.

I have undertaken research in the UK (agri-environment, rural development, and post-Brexit policy), Asia (climate adaptation and governance in Asian mega-deltas in India and Vietnam), sub-Saharan Africa (urban climate resilience and coastal ecosystem services in Kenya, Namibia and Tanzania) and Latin America (biodiversity conservation and community education in Ecuador and Costa Rica).

Throughout my career, my research has involved engaging with local, regional, and national government agencies, departments and ministries; community-based organizations; local, national and international NGOs as well as multilateral donors and intergovernmental organizations.

I read Biochemistry and Biology at the University of Keele (with subsidiary Music History and Performance), and hold Master’s degrees in Integrative Bioscience (BBSRC Scholarship) from the University of Oxford and Ecology and Environmental Management (NERC Scholarship) from the University of York. I also hold a PhD in Environmental Economics and Environmental Management (ESRC-NERC Studentship) from the University of York. Prior to joining the University of Edinburgh, I held postdoctoral positions at the Universities of York, Sheffield and Newcastle.

My research in a nutshell

Adam has a broad array of research interests which connect and intersect at the interface of knowledge generation and knowledge translation. That is, how can we understand the existential and sustainability predicaments facing social-ecological systems (the human and more-than-human worlds) and use that knowledge and information in order to make material improvements in those systems by influencing decision-making and policy arenas. This is undergirded by a research philosophy that emphasizes inter- and trans-disciplinarity, participatory approaches and mixed-methods. Collectively, this framing can then be applied to particular problem domains in different geographies such as post-Brexit environmental policy in the UK or urban climate resilience in East Africa.

Current Research Interests

  • Climate justice
  • Green colonialism
  • Post-capitalism and degrowth
  • Climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction
  • Climate change and infectious diseases
  • Religion, ecology and value pluralism

Research students

Current PhD Students

Primary Supervisor:

  • Hannah Giddings "PhD in Geosciences" (NERC E5 DTP) (2025-2029)
  • Sandra Belaunde "PhD in Geography" (Self-Funded) (2025-2028)

Advisor/Assisstant Supervisor:

  • Elspeth Horrocks "PhD in Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences" (NERC E4 DTP) (2023-2027)

Second Supervisor (external):

  • Rebeca Biancardi (Imperial College London) (2024-2027)

Past MSc Dissertation Students

Rifandi Lhsan (2024) Linyi Li (2024) Shiman Li (2024) Xinyu Lin (2024) Yong Lin (2024) Suyun Shi (2024) Rujia Sun (2024) Ewa Zakrzweska (2024) Yixiang Zhang (2024)   

Past MScR Dissertation Students

Obed Akwaa Harrison (WESAF Fellow) (2024) Constantin Sibomana (WESAF Fellow) (2024)

Education/Academic qualification

Environmental Economics and Environmental Management, Doctor of Science, University of York

Award Date: 14 Jul 2017

Ecology and Environmental Management, Master of Research, University of York (10742)

Award Date: 21 Jan 2011

Biology (Integrated Bioscience), Master in Science, University of Oxford

Award Date: 6 Nov 2004

Biochemistry and Biology, Bachelor of Science, Keele University

Award Date: 14 Jun 2002

External positions

Associate, CECAN Ltd

1 Mar 2024 → …

Visiting Research Associate, University of York

1 Sept 2022 → …

Visiting Researcher, African Climate Development Initiative, University of Cape Town

1 Jan 2020 → 31 Mar 2020

Visiting Postgraduate Researcher, Stockholm University

1 Jun 2010 → 6 Sept 2010

Research Themes and Networks

  • College of Science and Engineering Research Themes

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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

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  • Global Assessment of a New Economics

    Hejnowicz, A. (Principal Investigator)

    Project: Research

  • PURE: GCRF Peri Urban Resilient Ecosystems

    Cinderby, S. (Principal Investigator), Hejnowicz, A. (Co-investigator), Thorn, J. (Co-investigator), Marchant, R. (Co-investigator), Shackleton, S. (Co-investigator), Mfune, J. (Co-investigator), Ajala, O. (Co-investigator), Delgado, G. (Co-investigator), Gunton, R. (Co-investigator), Muller, A. (Co-investigator), Kovanic, J. (Co-investigator), Masao, C. (Co-investigator), Mwageni, E. (Co-investigator), Mwageni, N. (Co-investigator) & Liwenga, E. (Co-investigator)

    1/01/20 → 31/07/21

    Project: Project from a former institution

  • Enabling Strategic and Equitable Investment to Achieve Sustainable Land-Use Transitions in Sub-Saharan Africa

    Hejnowicz, A. (Principal Investigator)

    14/06/19 → 12/06/20

    Project: Project from a former institution

  • GCRF Living Deltas Research Hub

    Large, A. (Principal Investigator), Henderson, A. (CoPI), Amezaga, J. (Co-investigator), Roe, M. (Co-investigator), Chilton, S. (Co-investigator), Smith, G. (Co-investigator), Long, G. (Co-investigator), Fowler, H. (Co-investigator), Todd, L. (Co-investigator), Renaud, F. (Co-investigator), Bass, A. (Co-investigator), Bracken, L. (Co-investigator), Williams, J. (Co-investigator), Hernandez, A. (Co-investigator), Barker, P. (Co-investigator), Roy, M. (Co-investigator), Liang, Q. (Co-investigator), Panizzo, G. (Co-investigator), McGowan, S. (Principal Investigator), Baille Smith, M. (Co-investigator), Hesengerth, O. (Co-investigator), Sebesvari, Z. (Co-investigator), Dao, N. (Co-investigator), Foufoula-Georgiou, E. (Co-investigator), Pal, I. (Co-investigator), Salehin , M. (Co-investigator), Nguyen, T. T. N. (Co-investigator), van Nguyen, K. (Co-investigator), Van, T. (Co-investigator), Thuy Vu, T. (Co-investigator), Roy, S. (Co-investigator), Ghosh, T. (Co-investigator), Hasan, Z. (Co-investigator), Salamanca, A. (Co-investigator), Duong, T. T. (Co-investigator), Duc, T. A. (Co-investigator), Le, H. (Co-investigator), Vo Thanh, S. (Co-investigator), Nguyen Thi Ngoc, L. (Project Partner) & Hejnowicz, A. (Researcher)

    1/03/19 → 1/03/24

    Project: Project from a former institution

  • Governing the Water-Energy-Food Nexus: Challenges Across Borders

    Grugel, J. (Principal Investigator), Hejnowicz, A. (Co-investigator), Thorn, J. (Co-investigator), Hartley, S. (Co-investigator), Emberson, L. (Co-investigator), Giraudo, E. (Co-investigator), Sallach, B. (Co-investigator) & Pueppke, S. (Co-investigator)

    22/05/18 → 21/12/21

    Project: Project from a former institution

View all 8 projects