Ed Morgan

Dr Ed Morgan is a Research Fellow at the Cities Research Institute, Griffith University. He is developing landscape planning for ecosystem-based climate change adaptation and forest protection.

Ed researches planning and governance of natural resources, with a focus on climate change, sustainable development, forest conservation and water management.

His work on primary forests involves participatory action research to develop, implement and evaluate landscape planning and governance for primary forest protection and sustainable community development in case studies in the Amazon, Melanesia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

This work includes working with community, government and NGOs, through workshops, surveys and interviews, to develop community-scale landscape plans to help empower communities to both protect their forest and harness the benefits of ecosystem services of the forest.

Ed is interested in using planning to improve sustainability, natural resource management and environmental governance in both developing and industrialised countries, and particularly the role of knowledge can play in addressing environmental challenges.

Griffith University opened its doors over 40 years ago, we’ve been deeply connected to the Asian region, socially conscious and environmentally aware, an integral part of the community and heavily industry focused. We’ve also become a comprehensive, research-intensive university, ranking in the top 2% of universities worldwide. More about Griffith University.
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Ed's project publications

Undertaken field work in the DRC

Community evaluation of forest governance in the DRC

The DRC has over 100 million hectares of forest and has significant potential to benefit from these forests through REDD+ if they are managed effectively. The research shows that building the right capacity, consulting and accessing the needs of the community, and building long-term projects and partnerships are key success factors for improving forest governance.

Comparing community needs and REDD+ for capacity building and forest protection

Capacity building activities done through REDD+ schemes can meet the many technical needs but there are likely a number of systemic capacity needs that are unlikely to be addressed through existing processes. Missing are education and training in governance and management, as well as fundamental education in sustainability. Failure to address these needs risks undermining any implementation of REDD+.
The three pillars of integrated forest management

Policy Brief: The Three Key Pillars of Integrity-based Forest Management

Integrated landscape approaches to forest management are more holistic than conventional sector-based approaches and provide a more promising approach to sustainable management. Integrity-based Forest Management (INFORM) provides a framework for developing and evaluating integrated landscape approaches built on ecosystem integrity, effective planning and strong governance.
The three pillars of integrated forest management

Three Key Pillars for Integrity-based Forest Landscape Management

Integrated landscape management of forest landscapes requires ecosystem integrity, effective planning and strong governance. Integrated landscape approaches to forest management are more holistic than conventional sector-based approaches and provide a more promising approach to sustainable management.