Trisia Farrelly

Senior Research Scientist, Transdisciplinary Science Group 

Role at Cawthron

Trisia leads a project to develop a Pacific Islands programme for single-use plastics prevention in the tourism industry and coordinates an independent science review panel for a project which aims to design a global set of criteria for plastics, plastic alternatives, and non-plastic substitutes. Trisia is the Coordinator of the Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty: a body of over 400 independent scientists across more than 60 countries who provide robust independent science to United Nations member states throughout the global plastics treaty negotiations. As technical advisor, Trisia provides science-policy support to Pacific Island country representatives to the global plastics treaty negotiations. Trisia is also Senior Editor of Cambridge University Press’s Cambridge Prisms” Plastics.  

Trisia has extensive experience in national and international science-policy work and science communication as co-founder and coordinator of the Scientists’ Coalition and as co-founder and former trustee of the Aotearoa Plastic Pollution Alliance and the New Zealand Product Stewardship Council. Trisia has more than two decades of higher education sector experience including her seat on the Massey University Doctoral Research Committee. Trisia continues to supervise doctoral students and to co-direct the Political Ecology Research Centre as Professor and Honorary Fellow of Massey University. 

Technical skills, experience and interests

• Coordination of science-policy teams
• Qualitative social science methods
• Research ethics
• Systems approach
• Community-centred environmental management
• Political ecologies
• Rightful knowledge holders and rights holders
  Politics of science
• Democratising science
• Science-policy interfaces
• Transparency and essentiality criteria
• Right to safe, clean, healthy, and sustainable environment
• Rights of the environment
• Restorative and regenerative circular economies

Professional Affiliations

• Massey University
• Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty / The Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty
• Cambridge University Press Cambridge Prisms: Plastics

Qualifications

• PhD