Professor Graciela Metternicht

Dean - School of Science,
Dean's Unit, School of Science

Biography
Contact
Publications

Biography

Graciela Metternicht is the Dean of Science at Western Sydney University. She is a Professor of Geography with over 25 years of experience in environmental management, sustainability and the science-policy interface. Her research interests are primarily in environmental geography, with a focus on geospatial technologies and their application in environmental management and policy (sustainable land management, terrestrial ecosystems) and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Graciela is a Scientific and Technical Adviser on ecosystem restoration and sustainable land management for the Global Environment Facility (GEF); Chair of the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Advisory Panel; member of the IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management; member of Future Earth Global Land Program Scientific Steering Committee; Councillor, International Society of Digital Earth. She is also an Adjunct Professor of Environmental Geography at the Earth and Sustainability Science Research Centre, UNSW Sydney.

Professor Metternicht’s career has bridged science to policy; for 5 years she was Regional Coordinator of Early Warning and Assessment of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Previous academic appointments include, Director of the Institute of Environmental Studies (UNSW Sydney), Head of Discipline and Professor of Geospatial Systems and Environmental Management at the University of South Australia and Professor of Spatial Sciences at Curtin University of Technology.

Graciela has made significant contributions in the field of production and management of spatial information for land degradation and agriculture-related applications. Grants she secured from the Australian Research Council, industry, international agencies and the CRC for Spatial Information have produced critical evaluations on the performance of different operational remote sensors and platforms for the mapping and monitoring of rangelands and agricultural landscapes, including pastures, crops, noxious weeds, soils, native vegetation.

Professor Metternicht has provided significant leadership on how remote sensing and GIS can be used for the practical solution of problems related to vegetation degradation, soil salinization, rangeland management, and sustainable rural planning. Outputs of her research include the formulation of protocols for improved mapping of landscape conditions for optimising farming. She has also supervised research on the production and modelling of spatial information for the analysis of urban landscapes and vegetation.

Qualifications:

1996 PhD Geography (sum cum laude), University of Ghent, Belgium

1992 MSc Geoinformation and Map Production, University of Twente, ITC Faculty, The Netherlands

1991 Postgraduate Diploma Cartography, University of Twente, ITC Faculty, The Netherlands

1983 Perito Topo-Cartografo, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Argentina

This information has been contributed by Professor Metternicht.

Professional Memberships

Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) (2020 - 2023)

Organisational Unit (School / Division)

Dean's Unit, School of Science

Contact

Email:	G.Metternicht@westernsydney.edu.au
Phone:
Mobile:
Location:

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Publications

Books

Metternicht, G. (2018), 'Land Use and Spatial Planning: Enabling Sustainable Management of Land Resources', : Springer 9783319718606.

Chapters in Books

Metternicht, G., del Valle, H. and Angelini, M. (2023), 'Exploring the contribution of geopedology to the implementation of national frameworks for land degradation neutrality', Geopedology: An Integration of Geomorphology and Pedology for Soil and Landscape Studies, Springer 9783031206665.
Metternicht, G., Mueller, N. and Lucas, R. (2020), 'Digital earth for sustainable development goals', Manual of Digital Earth, Springer 9789813299146.
Metternicht, G. and von Maltitz, G. (2019), 'Land restoration for achieving SDG 15 : protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss ', Land Restoration for Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: An International Resource Panel Think Piece, United Nations Environment Programme 9789280737585.
Blanco, P., Hardtke, L., Rostagno, C., del Valle, H. and Metternicht, G. (2017), 'Soil degradation in Peninsula Valdes : causes, factors, processes, and assessment methods', Late Cenozoic of Peninsula Valdes, Patagonia, Argentina: An Interdisciplinary Approach, Springer 9783319839585.

Journal Articles

Meng, Z., Dong, J., Ellis, E., Metternicht, G., Qin, Y., Song, X., Lofqvist, S., Garrett, R., Jia, X. and Xiao, X. (2023), 'Post-2020 biodiversity framework challenged by cropland expansion in protected areas', Nature Sustainability, vol 6, no 7 , pp 758 - 768.
Kuang, J., Ng, A., Ge, L., Metternicht, G. and Clark, S. (2023), 'Joint use of optical and radar remote sensing data for characterizing the 2020 Aniangzhai landslide post-failure displacement', Remote Sensing, vol 15, no 2 .
Zhou, Y., Dong, J., Cui, Y., Zhao, M., Wang, X., Tang, Q., Zhang, Y., Zhou, S., Metternicht, G., Zou, Z., Zhang, G. and Xiao, X. (2023), 'Ecological restoration exacerbates the agriculture-induced water crisis in North China Region', Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, vol 331 .
Baumber, A., Cross, R., Waters, C., Metternicht, G. and Kam, H. (2022), 'Understanding the social licence of carbon farming in the Australian rangelands', Sustainability, vol 14, no 1 .
Broadbent, G., Allen, C., Wiedmann, T. and Metternicht, G. (2022), 'The role of electric vehicles in decarbonising Australia's road transport sector : modelling ambitious scenarios', Energy Policy, vol 168 .
Lucas, R., German, S., Metternicht, G., Schmidt, R., Owers, C., Prober, S., Richards, A., Tetreault-Campbell, S., Williams, K., Mueller, N., Tissott, B., Chua, S., Cowood, A., Hills, T., Gunawardana, D., McIntyre, A., Chognard, S., Hurford, C., Planque, C., Punalekar, S., Clewley, D., Sonnenschein, R., Murray, N., Manakos, I., Blonda, P., Owers, K., Roxburgh, S., Kay, H., Bunting, P. and Horton, C. (2022), 'A globally relevant change taxonomy and evidence-based change framework for land monitoring', Global Change Biology, vol 28, no 21 , pp 6293 - 6317.
Broadbent, G., Allen, C., Wiedmann, T. and Metternicht, G. (2022), 'Accelerating electric vehicle uptake : modelling public policy options on prices and infrastructure', Transportation Research. Part A: Policy and Practice, vol 162 , pp 155 - 174.
Zhang, Q., Ge, L., Hensley, S., Metternicht, G., Liu, C. and Zhang, R. (2022), 'PolGAN : a deep-learning-based unsupervised forest height estimation based on the synergy of PolInSAR and LiDAR data', ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, vol 186 , pp 123 - 139.
Akhtar-Schuster, M., Stringer, L., Metternicht, G., Barger, N., Chotte, J. and Kust, G. (2022), 'Assessing the impact of science in the implementation of the United Nations convention to combat desertification', Land, vol 11, no 4 .
Ly, K., Metternicht, G. and Marshall, L. (2022), 'Transboundary river basins : scenarios of hydropower development and operation under extreme climate conditions', Science of the Total Environment, vol 803 .
Meyfroidt, P., De Bremond, A., Ryan, C., Archer, E., Aspinall, R., Chhabra, A., Camara, G., Corbera, E., DeFries, R., Diaz, S., Dong, J., Ellis, E., Erb, K., Fisher, J., Garrett, R., Golubiewski, N., Grau, H., Grove, J., Haberl, H., Heinimann, A., Hostert, P., Jobbagy, E., Kerr, S., Kuemmerle, T., Lambin, E., Lavorel, S., Lele, S., Mertz, O., Messerli, P., Metternicht, G., Munroe, D., Nagendra, H., Nielsen, J., Ojima, D., Parker, D., Pascual, U., Porter, J., Ramankutty, N., Reenberg, A., Chowdhury, R., Seto, K., Seufert, V., Shibata, H., Thomson, A., Turner, B., Urabe, J., Veldkamp, T., Verburg, P., Zeleke, G. and Zu Ermgassen, E. (2022), 'Ten facts about land systems for sustainability', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol 119, no 7 .
Sutton, A., Fisher, A. and Metternicht, G. (2022), 'Assessing the accuracy of landsat vegetation fractional cover for monitoring Australian drylands', Remote Sensing, vol 14, no 24 .
Stafford Smith, M. and Metternicht, G. (2021), 'Governing drylands as global environmental commons', Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, vol 48 , pp 115 - 124.
Singha, M., Dong, J., Ge, Q., Metternicht, G., Sarmah, S., Zhang, G., Doughty, R., Lele, S., Biradar, C., Zhou, S. and Xiao, X. (2021), 'Satellite evidence on the trade-offs of the food-water-air quality nexus over the breadbasket of India', Global Environmental Change, vol 71 .
Debonne, N., Vliet, J., Metternicht, G. and Verburg, P. (2021), 'Agency shifts in agricultural land governance and their implications for land degradation neutrality', Global Environmental Change, vol 66 .
Castro-Magnani, M., Sanchez-Azofeifa, A., Metternicht, G. and Laakso, K. (2021), 'Integration of remote-sensing based metrics and econometric models to assess the socio-economic contributions of carbon sequestration in unmanaged tropical dry forests', Environmental and Sustainability Indicators, vol 9 .
Allen, C., Metternicht, G., Wiedmann, T. and Pedercini, M. (2021), 'Modelling national transformations to achieve the SDGs within planetary boundaries in small island developing states', Global Sustainability, vol 4 , pp 1 - 13.
Broadbent, G., Metternicht, G. and Wiedmann, T. (2021), 'Increasing electric vehicle uptake by updating public policies to shift attitudes and perceptions : case study of New Zealand', Energies, vol 14, no 10 .
Owers, C., Lucas, R., Clewley, D., Planque, C., Punalekar, S., Tissott, B., Chua, S., Bunting, P., Mueller, N. and Metternicht, G. (2021), 'Living Earth : implementing national standardised land cover classification systems for Earth Observation in support of sustainable development', Big Earth Data, vol 5, no 3 , pp 368 - 390.
Broadbent, G., Wiedmann, T. and Metternicht, G. (2021), 'Electric vehicle uptake : understanding the print media's role in changing attitudes and perceptions', World Electric Vehicle Journal, vol 12, no 4 .
Zhang, Q., Ge, L., Zhang, R., Metternicht, G., Du, Z., Kuang, J. and Xu, M. (2021), 'Deep-learning-based burned area mapping using the synergy of Sentinel-1&2 data', Remote Sensing of Environment, vol 264 .
Zhang, Q., Ge, L., Zhang, R., Metternicht, G., Liu, C. and Du, Z. (2021), 'Towards a deep-learning-based framework of sentinel-2 imagery for automated active fire detection', Remote Sensing, vol 13, no 23 .
Ly, K., Metternicht, G. and Marshall, L. (2020), 'Linking changes in land cover and land use of the lower Mekong Basin to instream nitrate and total suspended solids variations', Sustainability, vol 12, no 7 .
Kam, H., Metternicht, G., Baumber, A. and Cross, R. (2020), 'Understanding patterns of information sourcing and motivations to collaborate among absentee landholders : a case study of the Central Tablelands, NSW', Environmental Science and Policy, vol 107 , pp 188 - 197.
Allen, C., Metternicht, G., Verburg, P., Akhtar-Schuster, M., Cunha, M. and Sanchez Santivanez, M. (2020), 'Delivering an enabling environment and multiple benefits for land degradation neutrality : stakeholder perceptions and progress', Environmental Science and Policy, vol 114 , pp 109 - 118.
Sims, N., Barger, N., Metternicht, G. and England, J. (2020), 'A land degradation interpretation matrix for reporting on UN SDG indicator 15.3.1 and land degradation neutrality', Environmental Science and Policy, vol 114 , pp 1 - 6.
Lengefeld, E., Metternicht, G. and Nedungadi, P. (2020), 'Behavior change and sustainability of ecological restoration projects', Restoration Ecology, vol 28, no 4 , pp 724 - 729.
Ly, K., Metternicht, G. and Marshall, L. (2020), 'Simulation of streamflow and instream loads of total suspended solids and nitrate in a large transboundary river basin using source model and geospatial analysis', Science of the Total Environment, vol 744 .
Metternicht, G. and Stafford Smith, M. (2020), 'Commentary : on the under-valuing of Australia's expertise in drylands research and practice globally', The Rangeland Journal, vol 42, no 5 , pp 253 - 260.
Allen, C., Metternicht, G. and Wiedmann, T. (2020), 'Priorities for science to support national implementation of the sustainable development goals : a review of progress and gaps', Sustainable Development, vol 29, no 4 , pp 635 - 652.
Kavvada, A., Metternicht, G., Kerblat, F., Mudau, N., Haldorson, M., Laldaparsad, S., Friedl, L., Held, A. and Chuvieco, E. (2020), 'Towards delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals using Earth observations', Remote Sensing of Environment, vol 247 .
Baumber, A., Waters, C., Cross, R., Metternicht, G. and Simpson, M. (2020), 'Carbon farming for resilient rangelands : people, paddocks and policy', Rangeland Journal, vol 42, no 5 , pp 293 - 307.
Gilbey, B., Davies, J., Metternicht, G. and Magero, C. (2019), 'Taking land degradation neutrality from concept to practice : early reflections on LDN target setting and planning', Environmental Science and Policy, vol 100 , pp 230 - 237.
Broadbent, G., Metternicht, G. and Drozdzewski, D. (2019), 'An analysis of consumer incentives in support of electric vehicle uptake : an Australian case study', World Electric Vehicle Journal, vol 10, no 1 .
Dominguez-Tejo, E. and Metternicht, G. (2019), 'An ecosystem-based approach and Bayesian modelling to inform coastal planning : a case study of Manly, Australia', Environmental Science and Policy, vol 101 , pp 72 - 86.
Metternicht, G., Akhtar-Schuster, M. and Castillo, V. (2019), 'Implementing land degradation neutrality : from policy challenges to policy opportunities for national sustainable development', Environmental Science and Policy, vol 100 , pp 189 - 191.
Cowie, A., Waters, C., Garland, F., Orgill, S., Baumber, A., Cross, R. and Metternicht, G. (2019), 'Assessing resilience to underpin implementation of Land Degradation Neutrality : a case study in the rangelands of western New South Wales, Australia', Environmental Science and Policy, vol 100 , pp 37 - 46.
Allen, C., Metternicht, G. and Wiedmann, T. (2019), 'Prioritising SDG targets : assessing baselines, gaps and interlinkages', Sustainability Science, vol 14, no 2 , pp 421 - 438.
Kuang, J., Ge, L., Metternicht, G., Ng, A., Wang, H., Zare, M. and Kamranzad, F. (2019), 'Coseismic deformation and source model of the 12 November 2017 Mw 7.3 Kermanshah earthquake (Iran-Iraq border) investigated through DInSAR measurements', International Journal of Remote Sensing, vol 40, no 2 , pp 532 - 554.
Lucas, R., Mueller, N., Siggins, A., Owers, C., Clewley, D., Bunting, P., Kooymans, C., Tissott, B., Lewis, B., Lymburner, L. and Metternicht, G. (2019), 'Land cover mapping using Digital Earth Australia', Data, vol 4, no 4 .
Nielsen, J., De Bremond, A., Chowdhury, R., Friis, C., Metternicht, G., Meyfroidt, P., Munroe, D., Pascual, U. and Thomson, A. (2019), 'Toward a normative land systems science', Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, vol 38 , pp 1 - 6.
Ly, K., Metternicht, G. and Marshall, L. (2019), 'Transboundary river catchment areas of developing countries : potential and limitations of watershed models for the simulation of sediment and nutrient loads : a review', Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, vol 24 .
Zhou, Y., Dong, J., Liu, J., Metternicht, G., Shen, W., You, N., Zhao, G. and Xiao, X. (2019), 'Are there sufficient Landsat observations for retrospective and continuous monitoring of land cover changes in China?', Remote Sensing, vol 11, no 15 .
Baumber, A., Berry, E. and Metternicht, G. (2019), 'Synergies between land degradation neutrality goals and existing market-based instruments', Environmental Science & Policy, vol 94 , pp 174 - 181.
Dong, J., Metternicht, G., Hostert, P., Fensholt, R. and Chowdhury, R. (2019), 'Remote sensing and geospatial technologies in support of a normative land system science : status and prospects', Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, vol 38 , pp 44 - 52.
Kam, H., Metternicht, G., Baumber, A. and Cross, R. (2019), 'Engaging absentee landholders in ecosystem service delivery in south-eastern Australia', Ecosystem Services, vol 39 .
Allen, C., Metternicht, G., Wiedmann, T. and Pedercini, M. (2019), 'Greater gains for Australia by tackling all SDGs but the last steps will be the most challenging', Nature Sustainability, vol 2, no 11 , pp 1041 - 1050.
Baumber, A., Metternicht, G., Cross, R., Ruoso, L., Cowie, A. and Waters, C. (2019), 'Promoting co-benefits of carbon farming in Oceania : applying and adapting approaches and metrics from existing market-based schemes', Ecosystem Services, vol 39 .
Berry, E., Metternicht, G. and Baumber, A. (2019), ''This country just hangs tight' : perspectives on managing land degradation and climate change in far west NSW', Rangeland Journal, vol 41, no 3 , pp 197 - 210.
Broadbent, G., Drozdzewski, D. and Metternicht, G. (2018), 'Electric vehicle adoption : an analysis of best practice and pitfalls for policy making from experiences of Europe and the US', Geography Compass, vol 12, no 2 .
Cowie, A., Orr, B., Castillo Sanchez, V., Chasek, P., Crossman, N., Erlewein, A., Louwagie, G., Maron, M., Metternicht, G., Minelli, S., Tengberg, A., Walter, S. and Welton, S. (2018), 'Land in balance : the scientific conceptual framework for Land Degradation Neutrality', Environmental Science and Policy, vol 79 , pp 25 - 35.
Collantes, V., Kloos, K., Henry, P., Mboya, A., Mor, T. and Metternicht, G. (2018), 'Moving towards a twin-agenda : gender equality and land degradation neutrality', Environmental Science and Policy, vol 89 , pp 247 - 253.
Allen, C., Metternicht, G. and Wiedmann, T. (2018), 'Initial progress in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) : a review of evidence from countries', Sustainability Science, vol 13, no 5 , pp 1453 - 1467.
Dominguez-Tejo, E., Metternicht, G., Johnston, E. and Hedge, L. (2018), 'Exploring the social dimension of sandy beaches through predictive modelling', Journal of Environmental Management, vol 214 , pp 379 - 407.
Dominguez-Tejo, E. and Metternicht, G. (2018), 'Poorly-designed goals and objectives in resource management plans : assessing their impact for an ecosystem-based approach to marine spatial planning', Marine Policy, vol 88 , pp 122 - 131.
Okpara, U., Stringer, L., Akhtar-Schuster, M., Metternicht, G., Dallimer, M. and Requier-Desjardins, M. (2018), 'A social-ecological systems approach is necessary to achieve land degradation neutrality', Environmental Science & Policy, vol 89 , pp 59 - 66.
Baumber, A., Metternicht, G., Ampt, P., Cross, R. and Berry, E. (2018), 'From importing innovations to co-producing them : transdisciplinary approaches to the development of online land management tools', Technology Innovation Management Review, vol 8, no 8 , pp 16 - 26.
Bizikova, L., Metternicht, G. and Yarde, T. (2018), 'Environmental mainstreaming and policy coherence : essential policy tools to link international agreements with national development : a case study of the Caribbean region', Environment, Development and Sustainability, vol 20, no 3 , pp 975 - 995.
Baumber, A., Metternicht, G., Ampt, P., Cross, R. and Berry, E. (2018), 'Opportunities for adaptive online collaboration to enhance rural land management', Journal of Environmental Management, vol 219 , pp 28 - 36.
Allen, C., Nejdawi, R., El-Baba, J., Hamati, K., Metternicht, G. and Wiedmann, T. (2017), 'Indicator-based assessments of progress towards the sustainable development goals (SDGs) : a case study from the Arab region', Sustainability Science, vol 12, no 6 , pp 975 - 989.
Akhtar-Schuster, M., Stringer, L., Erlewein, A., Metternicht, G., Minelli, S., Safriel, U. and Sommer, S. (2017), 'Unpacking the concept of land degradation neutrality and addressing its operation through the Rio Conventions', Journal of Environmental Management, vol 195, no 1 , pp 4 - 15.
Allen, C., Metternicht, G. and Wiedmann, T. (2017), 'An iterative framework for national scenario modelling for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)', Sustainable Development, vol 25, no 5 , pp 372 - 385.

Conference Papers

del Valle, H., Tentor, F., Sione, W., Zamboni, P., Acenolaza, P. and Metternicht, G. (2022), 'Vertical accuracy assessment of freely available digital elevation models : implications for low-relief landscapes', International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Metternicht, G., Cross, R., Perry, N., Pilon-Summons, C., Osann, A., Villodre, J., Baumber, A., D?Urso, G. and Michele, C. (2022), 'Opportunities and barriers for adoption of Sentinel-2 based agricultural services and products : policy and stakeholders' views as influencers', International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Zhang, L., Gu, Y., Metternicht, G., Yan, M., Bi, S. and Hasan, M. (2019), 'Spatial structure and relationship between ports and port cities along the Maritime Silk Road', International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Yokohama, Japan.
Metternicht, G., Lucas, R., Bunting, P., Held, A., Lymburner, L. and Ticehurst, C. (2018), 'Addressing mangrove protection in Australia : the contribution of earth observation technologies', International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Valencia, Spain.
Kuang, J., Ge, L., Metternicht, G., Ng, A., Zare, M. and Kamranzad, F. (2018), 'Source model of the 12 November 2017 Mw 7.3 Kermanshah Earthquake (Iran-Iraq border) inferred from ALOS-2 ScanSAR and Sentinel-L data', International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Valencia, Spain.
Ampt, P., Baumber, A., Berry, E., Cox, T., Cross, R., Metternicht, G. and Pfeiffer, H. (2018), 'Landscape scale conservation : incentives for cross-property action', Restore, Regenerate, Revegetate Conference, Armidale, N.S.W..
Antonio, J., Metternicht, G. and Tommaselli, J. (2017), 'Classificac?o de antropossolos em areas de antigos depositos de residuos solidos em Presidente Prudente _ SP : primeira aproximac?o', Simposio Brasileiro de Geografia Fisica Aplicada, Campinas, Sao Paulo.

Other Publications

2019, 'Creating an Enabling Environment for Land Degradation Neutrality and its Potential Contribution to Enhancing Well-Being, Livelihoods and the Environment', Report
2018, 'Soil Biodiversity and Soil Organic Carbon: Keeping Drylands Alive', Report
2017, 'Scientific Conceptual Framework for Land Degradation Neutrality: A Report of the Science-Policy Interface', Report
2017, 'Land Use Planning', Report