Amy Fallon

Dr Amy Fallon

Research Fellow in Water Governance and International Development

Biography

I am an environmental social scientist working across disciplines in the study of sustainability transformations, specifically water/fisheries governance in the context of rapid hydropower and infrastructural development in Southeast Asia.

I draw on concepts and theories such as political ecology, complexity, social-ecological systems resilience, and critical institutionalism to explore 'wicked problems' (i.e., those with conflicting worldviews, values and epistemologies), and the role that conflict resolution, social learning and relationality might play in facilitating more sustainable and equitable outcomes for marginalised groups. I'm also interested in the role of policy frames, narratives and informal institutions in facilitating (or hindering) sustainability transformations.

In my work, I engage with the underlying ontological and epistemological debates around transformations and how we study complex systems, with an interest in the politics of knowledge production and alternative ways of knowing.

I enjoy working across disciplines and epistemic groups, including engineers, natural scientists, social scientists, communities, and policymakers to explore the complex environmental challenges we face as a society.

Research
  • Sustainability transformations governance
  • Critical political ecology
  • Water resources and fisheries governance
  • Environmental conflict
  • Social-ecological-technological systems (SETS) & resilience
  • Complexity studies (incl. relationality & social emergence)
  • Environmental justice
Publications
Full publications list on CRO

Recent publications

Fallon, A., Keskinen, M., & Baumgartner, L. J. (2023). Governing sustainable hydropower transformation in Indonesia: Negotiating trade-offs, perspectives, and goals through a social-ecological-technological systems (SETS) lens. 43. Abstract from 3rd International Conference for Sustainable Resource Society : Water Cycle in the Environment and Society, Kuopio, Finland. http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-61-5024-6

Fallon, A. (2023). Managing water scarcity in Asia and the Pacific - A Summary. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations; Australian Water Partnership.

Fallon, A., Sawdon, J., Le Thi Ha, T., & Ketelsen, T. (2023). Risk or Reward: Hydropower impacts on supply chains in the Lower Mekong. WWF-Asia Pacific. https://wwfasia.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/full-report--risk-or-reward---hydropower-impacts-on-supply-chains-in-the-lower-mekong_1_1.pdf

Fallon, A., Jones, R. W., & Keskinen, M. (2022). Bringing resilience-thinking into water governance: Two illustrative case studies from South Africa and Cambodia. Global Environmental Change, 75, Article 102542. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2022.102542

Fallon, A. (2022). Keep it complex: Critical perspectives on water governance for dynamic social-hydrological systems. [Doctoral Thesis, Aalto University]. Painosalama. http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-64-0790-6