
Doctor of Philosophy (Sydney University)
Master of Environmental Engineering Management (UTS)
Master of Arts (Sociology/ Anthropology - 1st Year) (TU, Nepal)
Graduate Certificate in Higher Education (Sydney University)
Bachelor of Science in Forestry with Distinction (TU, Nepal)
Krishna K. Shrestha is a development and environmental geographer. His research interests encompass i) environmental and climate governance, ii) disaster risk reduction, iii) indigenous knowledge, iv) food, water and livelihood security, and v) development planning and policy, in particular the intersection of the five with his work on social and environmental justice. Connecting these arenas of works is an overarching analytical thread of Justice as Redistribution AND Justice as Recognition.
Krishna's work constitutes blending moral philosophy and theories of justice with critical development studies, political ecology and communicative action. His research on these five themes simultaneously engages with grand theory and real-world societal challenges. He uses grounded analysis of socio-political and ecological dynamics through a multi-scale perspective where the role of unequal power relations in constituting a politicised environment is a central theme. His research gives particular attention to the ways in which problems of justice are linked to systems of social hierarchy and political and economic control. He uses a ‘critical pragmatic’ approach to development and environmental problems in which rigorous explanation is balanced with carefully considered policy alternatives. Most of his work is interdisciplinary and empirically based which integrates indigenous, social and natural science methodologies to examine the interrelationship between social and natural systems. His research, teaching and engagements are driven by the belief that cultural and contextual understandings arte vital for education and science to shift paradigms, enabling alternative ways to understand and address complex social and environmental challenges.
Krishna is currently Associate Professor in Development Studies at the School of Social Sciences, UNSW Sydney. Prior to this appointment, Krishna was Program Director at the Urban and Regional Planning and Policy at the University of Sydney. He also held various positions at the University of Queensland, Macquarie University and the Department of Forests in Nepal Government. He was a visiting scholar at the Department of Geography, Cambridge University, UK, and Visiting Senior Research Fellow at Asia Research Institute at National University of Singapore (NUS). He served as a member of the Academic Board at the University of Sydney. He is the recipient of the Endeavour Research Fellowship by the Australian Government. He has an interdisciplinary qualification, with higher degrees in Geography (PhD Sydney), Higher Education (Grad. Cert. Sydney), Environmental Policy and Management (MEEM, UTS) and Forestry (BSc TU Nepal).
- Food security and livelihood in Nepal
- Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Indigenous Peoples in Nepal, Australia and the USA
- Climate justice and water security in India and Nepal
- Reframing development planning and policy
- Community-based natural resource management in Australia and Nepal
- The power of alternative data
Krishna is Convenor of Masters of Development Studies. He teaches courses in Development Studies at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. His courses focus on the debates on the intersection between development and environment, with specific reference to development planning and policy, environmental and climate governance, disaster resilience and justice in the Asia-pacific context. His teaching is based on the belief that teaching is a collective journey – a journey that is shaped by active dialogue and participation of teacher and student. Within this philosophy, his teaching goal is to maximise student learning and satisfaction by the provision of a supportive, engaging and student-centred learning environment and an innovative teaching strategy which encourages critical reflective and deep learning. In order to adopt his teaching philosophy and goals, there are some core elements to his teaching approach that span all his teaching activities. First, he treats students with respect; second, his teaching materials are always well organised and prepared; and third, he is always seeking feedback on his teaching and is open to new approaches.
PhD/ Masters supervision:
Krishna welcomes applications for higher degree supervision in his areas of expertise in the areas such as a) disaster resilience and justice, b) equity in urban/regional planning and policy, c) climate justice and climate change adaptation, d) justice and governance of food security, e) participation and natural resource management, and f) political ecology, particularly from Nepal, India, Bangladesh and other developing countries.
His supervision strategy at the Masters and PhD level seeks to enhance student capacity to act as independent, critical professionals and engaged leaders competent at a global level. Over the years, he has successfully supervised a number of research students and continues to re-energise a ‘research group’, of which research students have been an integral part. His approach to research supervision is to tailor supervision to the individual needs and skills of the students. He has assisted them in planning their project, helping them identifying methods to be applied and facilitating them in accessing information and developing their skills to undertake the research.