Dr Ananya Majumdar

Biography

Dr Ananya Majumdar is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow with the Stakeholder and Traditional Owner Engagement sub-program of the Australian Government’s Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP). RRAP is the world's largest and leading program working on coral reef adaptation research and development. RRAP is a partnership between QUT, the Australian Institute of Marine Science, CSIRO, the Great Barrier Reef Foundation, the University of Queensland, Southern Cross University and James Cook University, focused on developing and deploying scalable scientific technologies to support the Great Barrier Reef adapt to climate change.

Ananya’s work in RRAP is on Adaptive Governance: She collaborates with Barrier Reef Traditional Owners, communities and stakeholders (tourism, fisheries, regulators, reef managers, civil society, scientists, aquaculturists, and others) to evaluate existing polices and regulations, and co-design governance mechanisms to better facilitate reef adaptation interventions and stewardship.

Ananya worked for over a decade on the ground as a civil society and research practitioner across Australia, India, Canada, and the United States, prior to re‑entering academia in 2018,. Her expertise spans marine, coastal, and water governance; environmental and biodiversity conservation; climate and disaster resilience; renewable energy and energy justice; and environmental and social justice, with a focus on the rights and wellbeing of Traditional fisher, agrarian, and marginalised communities. She has worked hands-on with communities, regulators, and industry, and has developed research, policy, advocacy, and capacity‑building resources for diverse audiences. Policy workshops she has facilitated have enabled more inclusive and just outcomes for communities by enabling them to better engage in formal decision‑making processes and negotiations.

Ananya is captivated by everything oceans and nature and is an avid snorkeler and free-diver.