Jason Alexandra

Jason has 30 years of experience in working at intersection of research, policy and practice in conservation, water and natural resources management and sustainable land-use.

His work has focused on the governance and management of natural resources, including:

• R&D and policy initiatives that span ecosystem management, land use change, agricultural and agro-forestry systems
• climate science and climate change
• vegetation and revegetation
• river basin and regional planning

Jason has published widely and has operated innovative horticultural, revegetation, forestry and farming businesses.

In 2011, Jason received the first Cullen Transfer Award for successfully “putting science into policy”—an award named after Peter Cullen, one of Australia’s great science communicators.

In 1989, Jason was awarded the inaugural Banksia Award for environmental achievement for his work establishing a demonstration revegetation farm in Gippsland in the 1980s.

Jason was appointed as an adjunct research fellow at Charles Darwin University in 2013.

Jason has held senior roles including as the Executive Director of the Earthwatch Institute (an international NGO delivering environmental research and sustainability education in over 40 countries) and as a Director of Land & Water Australia and the Port Phillip Catchment Management Authority.

 

Between 2008 and 2013 Jason was a senior executive at the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) where he had responsibilities for a range of water policy, research and ecosystem management programs.

 

These natural resources program were delivered collaboratively between the six governments involved in the Murray Darling Initiative.

 

Jason left Canberra and the MDBA in early 2013 to concentrate on consulting business. As the managing director of Alexandra and Associates Pty Ltd Jason has completed over 90 consulting projects on sustainability, natural resources management, environment and water policy.

• International Water Centre, Department of Foreign Affairs— Institutional strengthening in the Indonesian Water Sector (2014)
• University of Melbourne Law School— Water reform in Australia: Experiments in adaptive governance (2014)
• Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture—R&D partnership and funding facilitation: Irrigation RD&E (2014)
• Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture—Developing a strategic R&D plan for using foresighting techniques (2014)
• Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre—Evaluation strategy for the Environmental Water Knowledge and Research program (2014)
• North-East Catchment Management Authority—Linking communities and catchments in the Ovens (2014)
• NSW Farmers Association—Scoping study for on optimising energy and water use in irrigation (2014)
• NSW Farmers Association—Study on vegetation clearly control legislation (2014)

View Jason's published papers on academia.edu

Director of Land & Water Australia (1996-2002)

Executive Director of Earthwatch Institute Australia (2006-07)

Member of the MDB Community Advisory Committee (1992-96)

Director Greening Australia (1992-96)

President and Vice President International Treecrop Institute Australia (1986-88)

Deputy Chair of the Port Phillip and Western Port Catchment Management Authority (2000-06)