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Professor

Benjamin J. Richardson

Professor in Environmental Law

Office of the Faculty of Law

BIO

I'm a global scholar of environmental law and property law, with affiliated legal expertise in corporate social responsibility and Indigenous peoples, plus research passions in other disciplines that include film studies and art history.

After my undergraduate and doctoral studies in Australia, I worked abroad for nearly two decades. Prior to joining the University of Tasmania in 2014, I was at the University of British Columbia, where I held the Senior Canada Research Chair in Environmental Law and Sustainability. Earlier, my peripatetic career included positions at the University of Manchester, the University of Auckland, and Toronto's York University,

Highlights of my scholarship include the books: The Art of Environmental Law: Governing with Aesthetics (Bloomsbury / Hart, 2019), Time and Environmental Law: Telling Nature's Time (Cambridge University Press, 2017), and Socially Responsible Investment Law (Oxford University Press, 2008). The latest book I am writing concerns some of the history of environmental documentary films. My research has benefited from generous funding, including from the Australian Research Council, the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada, and the New Zealand Law Foundation.

Beyond academia, I have had stints working for the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service in Sydney, and the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) in Kathmandu and Nairobi. I continue to volunteer for a variety of community and professional groups, such as the Tasmanian Independent Science Council. Also, I was once the custodian of a private nature sanctuary in Tasmania, called Blue Mountain View, on which I put a conservation covenant.

QUALIFICATIONS / STUDIES

Ph.D (Film Studies), Monash University, since 2022 (in progress)
Ph.D (Law; Environmental Science), Australian National University, 1996
LLB, BA (Politics), 1st Class Hons, Macquarie University, 1991

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

2022 - ongoing: Adjunct Professor, Osgoode Professional Development, York University, Canada
2022-23: Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Law, Queen's University, Canada
2017: Global Law Visiting Chair, Faculty of Law, Tilburg University, Netherlands
2017: Visiting Professor, Dickson Poon Law School, KIng's College London, UK
2015 - ongoing: Adjunct Professor, School of Law, Macquarie University
2014 - ongoing: Professor of Environmental Law, Faculty of Law, University of Tasmania
2012: Distinguished Visiting Researcher, Faculty of Law, University of Technology Sydney
2011-14: Senior Canada Research Chair in Environmental Law and Sustainability, University of British Columbia, Canada
2003-10: Professor, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Canada
2001-02: Visiting Professor, Socrates Program (European Commission): universities of Copenhagen, Iceland, Milan and Stockholm
1999-2002: Lecturer; Senior Lecturer, School of Law, University of Manchester, UK
1996-99: Lecturer; School of Law University of Auckland, New Zealand

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS / MEMBERSHIPS

Royal Society of Tasmania (2023 - ongoing)
Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand Environmental History Network (2023 - ongoing)
Australian Greens – Disability Working Group (2023 -24)
Tasmanian Independent Science Council (2020 - ongoing)
UniSuper Consultative Committee (2020-24)
Australian Research Council, Excellence in Research (ERA): Humanities and Creative Arts Committee (2018)
Australian Panel of Experts on Environmental Law (2014-17)
Tasmanian Environmental Defenders Office, Management Committee (2014-16)
Responsible Investing Initiative, Canada (2011 -15)
Advisory Board, Coalition of Universities for Responsible Investing (2011-14)
UN Principles of Responsible Investment Academic Network (2010-15)
Advisory Board and Co-chair of SRI Research Cluster, Canadian Business Ethics Research Network (2010-13)
Elected Member, Governing Board, IUCN Academy of Environmental Law (2010-12)
Co-chair, Research Committee, IUCN Academy of Environmental Law (2007-09)
Social Audit Advisory Committee, Alterna Savings Credit Union (2006-08)
New Zealand Centre for Environmental Law (1998-99)
World Commission on Environmental Law, IUCN (1996 - ongoing)
National Environmental Law Association of Australia (1995 - ongoing)

SCHOOL AND PORTFOLIO

  • Faculty of Law

FIELD OF RESEARCH