| Notes |
Erin O'Donnell is an environmental water law and policy specialist. She has worked in environmental planning and management and water governance since 2002, in both the private and public sectors. Erin has recently submitted her PhD thesis, and her research examines what happens when the environment is constructed in law as a legal person. Erin’s research focus is the challenge of providing sufficient water for the environment within the context of transferable water rights and water markets, and is informed by comparative analysis across Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Chile. Erin’s work explores how environmental water organizations construct the aquatic environment as a legal subject, with responsibility to hold and manage water rights on behalf of the environment. Her research findings show how extending legal rights to nature can re-define humanity’s relationship to the environment. Erin is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Resources, Energy and Environment Law at the Melbourne Law School, and is currently a consultant to The World Bank on water reform. |
