Professor Emma J. Stewart

Professor Emma J. Stewart is a geographer in the field of human dimensions of environmental change and the implications for parks, recreation and tourism, in climate-sensitive settings. Emma is currently interim Dean for the Faculty of Environment, Society and Design at Lincoln University, New Zealand.

Professor Stewart’s research focuses on the human dimensions of environmental change and implications for the parks, recreation and tourism sectors, neighbouring communities, underlying resources and governance structures in climate-sensitive nature-based settings such as polar, coastal and high mountain environments. Over the last 30 years she conducted a variety of social science research projects particularly on polar tourism. As a human geographer she seeks to understand the implications of bio-physical change for society. Professor Stewart’s work is interdisciplinary, and she enjoys collaborating with natural scientists including sea-ice modellers, glaciologists, climate scientists and biologists. Her research is cited as evidence in various Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports. Emma’s research has advanced the field both theoretically and methodologically through inter-disciplinary case studies in a range of polar, coastal and high mountain environments; innovative syntheses of research to set future research agendas; and novel advances. Professor Stewart has over 300 research outputs including 70 peer-reviewed journal articles which are frequently published in high-impact journals.

Professor Stewart’s work has contributed to knowledge by being part of a research team to first conceptualise ‘last-chance tourism’, as a way to understand increased visitor demand for vulnerable destinations; examining the link between visitation to remote settings and pro-environmental/ ambassadorial behaviours; and having a long standing (academic and professional) interest in the way conservation messages are communicated to visitors. In relation to communities, her early work contributed to understanding the risks and opportunities of environmental change on communities, where she developed expertise in community-based approaches to research in Indigenous settings. In relation to her sector-based work, she has advanced understanding by providing critical reflections on the utility of governance frameworks, noting in many instances that regulation is not fit-for-purpose to address the rapid changes in intensification and diversification of nature-based tourism in polar, coastal and high mountain environments.