DrBilly Haworth

Selected projects:

Assessing the social feasibility of vertical adaptation (land raising) for climate change adaptation in Tuvalu and other atoll nations (2025-2026)

Funding: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Researchers: Dr Billy Tusker Haworth, Dr Ana Paula da Silva, Prof Elaine Baker, Prof Ana Vila-Concejo, Ms Liav Meoded-Stern

Tuvalu is one of the world’s smallest and most vulnerable countries, with nine low-lying atolls and ~11,000 people. Its capital, Fogafale Island, just 23cm above high spring tide levels, is highly exposed to sea-level rise and flooding. The Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project aims to protect Fogafale’s southern shoreline by reclaiming 8ha of flood-free land and safeguarding 800m of coast. We are undertaking a work package for UNDP, revising best practices for climate change adaptation for atoll nations and researching the social feasibility of vertical adaptation (land reclamation). The research includes a desk-based review of existing strategies for vertical adaptation and field-based assessment of social attitudes through interviews with communities and stakeholders in Tuvalu. The project aims to inform future policy and planning for Tuvalu and small island coastal adaptation. 

Reimagining resilience in disaster scholarship, policy and practice in Australia: lessons from building a community resilience alliance in the Northern Rivers, NSW (2025-2026)

Funding: Sydney Environment Institute, University of Sydney
Researchers: Dr Billy Tusker Haworth, Dr Rebecca McNaught, DrJo Longman, Dr Rebecca Hamilton, Dr Anna Sturman, Ms Hannah Winter, Dr Emma Pittaway

Despite initial enthusiasm for resilience in disaster policy, the concept has been critiqued in disaster scholarship and academia more widely as ineffective for achieving disaster risk reduction (DRR). Operationalisation of resilience is complicated by over-emphasis on societies and economies and underemphasis on the non-human world in disaster scholarship and policy. Our project aims to understand whether and how ‘resilience’ can be better applied in Australian DRR to facilitate more consistent, actionable and just outcomes in the face of climate-related disasters. We approach this through multidisciplinary thematic analysis of scholarly literature and policy documents case studies. The project is also engaging with researchers at the University Centre for Rural Health in Lismore, who are examining the role of place-based grass-roots community groups in emergency response, recovery efforts, and building resilience during and after recent flood disasters.

Marine Resources Initiative (MRI) project (2022-2026)
Funding: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)

Researchers: Prof Elaine Baker, Dr Billy Tusker Haworth, Dr Jamie Simpson, A/Prof Eleanor Bruce, Prof Ana Vila-Concejo, Prof Maria Byrne

MRI is a DFAT-fundedresearch and capacity-building project investigating marinespatial planning and stakeholder engagement in the South China Sea region in the face of various threats to marine environments and livelihoods, such as climate change or regional pressures on fisheries. I am primarily working with marine science and GIS colleagues at University of Sydney (such as Professor Elaine Baker and A/Prof Eleanor Bruce), geospatial experts at Geoscience Australia, and governments in Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, such as the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development.

Selected project publications:

Haworth, B.T., Bruce, E., Cadigal, G. M., Caligdong, J. M. S., Green, J., & Baker, E. (2025). Enhancing expert elicitation techniques through participatory mapping: Application to marine environment assessments in Palawan, Philippines. Geo: Geography and Environment, 12(2), e70019.

Haworth, B.T., Cadigal, G.M., Zabala Jr, E.C., Gonzales, B.J., Jalover-Par, C.L.S., Dolorosa, R.G., Gonzales-Plasus, M.M., Jontila, J.B.S., Cabrestante Jr, M.P., Bruce, E., & Baker, E. (2024). Palawan (UNESCO Biosphere Reserve), Philippines, State of the Marine Environment 2024. Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff, Puerto Princesa City, Philippines. Pp. 130. (peer-reviewed). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/389571753_Palawan_UNESCO_Biosphere_Reserve_Philippines_State_of_the_Marine_Environment_2024

Simpson, J., Bruce, E., Green, J., Estoya, N.R.C., Matta, T.J.S., Cadigal, G.M., Cabrestante Jr, M.P., Bream, J., Jalover-Par, C.L., Haworth, B.T., & Baker, E. (2024). Nearshore Marine Benthic Features of Palawan Municipalities, The Philippines. University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. Pp. 134. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/389694019_Nearshore_Marine_Benthic_Features_of_Palawan_Municipalities