Emeritus Professor Pierre Horwitz

Appointed 2024.

Pierre is Professor Emeritus of Environmental Sciences at Edith Cowan University in Perth Western Australia, the founding Co-Director of its Strategic Research Centre for People, Place and Planet (2020-2023), and currently Editor-in-Chief of the scientific journal PLOS Water. He has served on the Board of Bush Heritage Australia, and as President of the Australian Society for Freshwater Sciences (1999-2001). He was appointed to the Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP) for the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands as Theme Coordinator for “Wetlands and Health” for two triennial terms 2009-2015. He has served on panels for the World Heritage Commission, Canadian Government’s International Development Research Centre, and as an independent reviewer for national and international funding agencies.

Pierre has research interests and expertise in the links between wetland ecosystems, biodiversity, human health and sustainable water resource management, with research projects based in western and southern Australia, South East Asia and Oceania. He has published extensively, and lead or co-lead national and international research programmes over the last 25 years. A current example is the PEAT Southwest programme; Pierre is currently Co-Lead of this major, multi-year scientific and cultural investigation of peatlands and their management in southwestern Australia, drawing on his experience as an aquatic and social ecologist.

Since completing his doctorate at the University of Tasmania in 1986, he has supervised to completion more than 50 Masters and PhD students and has received University awards for excellence in research and postgraduate supervision.