Professor Daniel Robinson

My Expertise

Biodiversity, Access and benefit-sharing, Biotrade value chains, Indigenous knowledge, Intellectual property (patents, plant variety protection) and development, biopiracy and bioprospecting ethics, general environmental matters

Fields of Research (FoR)

Human Geography, Indigenous Law, Intellectual Property Law, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Environmental Knowledge, Environment Policy

SEO tags

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander development

Justice and the Law

International trade issues not elsewhere classified

Conserving Pacific Peoples Heritage

Biography

Dr Daniel Robinson has a background in human geography, environmental science and environmental law. Daniel's research focuses on the regulation of nature and knowledge. His papers and books cover themes including 'biopiracy', access and benefit-sharing relating to biological resources, appropriation and regulation of Indigenous knowledge, Indigenous/customary laws and biocultural protocols, ethical biotrade, political ecology, environmental policy and management. Daniel also has an interest in the environmental and social implications of multilateral, regional and bilateral IP and trade rules and negotiations, and has several papers/chapters on the negotiation politics of these forums.

On these issues, Daniel has acted as a researcher and policy advisor on projects for the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) and with their joint project with UNCTAD, The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Global Environment Facility (GEF), the German development implementation agency (GIZ), DFAT, AusAid and Department of Environment, Natural Justice, the Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT), The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand, amongst others. He was a Research Fellow, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), Geneva (2014 - 2018); and a Visiting Fellow with the Institute for the Study of Human Rights at Columbia University in NYC (October 2018).

Daniel was the Academic Lead for the Pacific, for the UNSW Institute for Global Development, a university-wide strategic initiative (2018-mid-2025). He maintains a strong interest in Pacific collaborations, engagement and research.

Daniel is currently serving on the Australian Research Council (ARC) College of Experts, 2024-2026.

Additional extensive media relating to Kakadu Plum and bush foods and medicines, for example on ABC radio national, ABC TV Landline, as well as ABC Radio Local/Regional, SBS Radio World News, SBS TV The Feed, Print media such as SMH, le monde diplomatique. Check out this 2022 interview on YouTube by Deutche Welle. See also 2022 contributions to British Council funded contributions to a GROW art activity on biopiracy.

My Grants

Daniel is starting a DFAT-funded project on protecting and promoting Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions (GRTKTCE) in ASEAN Countries in 2025-26, with A/Prof Evana Wright (UTS).

Daniel has current and recent (2024-26) projects on Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) relating to bush foods and medicines in Australia and Timor Leste with ACIAR, Northern Australian Aboriginal Kakadu Plum Alliance (NAAKPA), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and Western Australian Government (DPIRD) with A/Prof Miri Raven and collaborators.

Daniel is Chief Investigator with A/Prof Miri (Margaret) Raven on the 5 year Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project(DP180100507): Indigenous knowledge futures: protecting and promoting indigenous knowledge (2018-2022, extended to 2025).

Daniel was recently the Pacific Regional Manager of the Access and Benefit-Sharing Capacity Development Initiative (EU funded, multi-donor, GIZ implemented, with SPREP partnership), which had a 6 year project implementing the Nagoya Protocol to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in the Pacific from 2017 to 2022. See: http://www.abs-initiative.info/

My Qualifications

BSc Hons, G.Dip Env Law, PhD

My Awards

Arts, Design and Architecture (ADA) Dean's Award winner for Research Excellence (2023) - Indigenous Knowledge Futures with Dr Miri Raven

Arts, Design and Architecture (ADA) Dean's Award winner for Teaching Excellence (2023) - Indigenous knowledges and Caring for Country course with several collaborators.

Arts and Social Sciences Dean's Award winner for Research - Social Impact (2016)
Research Fellow, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), Geneva (2014 - 2018)

My Research Activities

Daniel is starting a DFAT-funded Regional Trade for Development (RT4D) project on protecting and promoting Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions (GRTKTCE) in ASEAN Countries in 2025-26, with A/Prof Evana Wright (UTS).

Daniel contributes to supervision and expert advice to the UNSW Engineering - University of South Pacific (USP) collaboration Project Halophyte (2024-2029): https://www.unsw.edu.au/research/project-halophyte.

Daniel is an Affiliated Investigator on the ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous and Environmental Histories and Futures (CIEHF).

My Research Supervision

Currently supervising

Georgia Ohlin (PhD ongoing) - Following Bushfoods and their Potential Role in Environmental Markets
Enock Mac'Ouma (PhD ongoing) - The use of community radio programmes to promote adoption of climate-smart farming technologies in Kenya
Vanessa Conrad (PhD ongoing) - Sustainable and Ethical Fashion
Joshua Wilkinson (PhD ongoing) - Investigating the social impacts of coastal restoration in Fiji
Kayla Lochner (PhD, ongoing) - Just transitions in the Pacific (tentative title).
Lyb Maree (PhD, ongoing) - Prefiguring new(?) ecocultural ways of living: Cohousing and the (re)generative capacity of the law
Aniqah Chen Binti Faris (MRes, ongoing) - Political Ecology of Urban Forest Conflicts in Malaysia
Denise True (MRes at completion) - TEK and Environmental Impact Assessment

Past students:

Sanjay Kalpage (PhD Conferred, now working for International Fund for Agricultural Development - IFAD, South Africa) - Landscape-base conservation approaches in the developing world: The case for managed elephant ranges in Sri Lanka.
Rebecca Cross (PhD Conferred, now lecturing at Sydney University) - Conversations with Farmers: Agri-cultural practice change and the farming ‘innovator’
Nahid Sultana (PhD Conferred, Working for UNSW) - Adaptation to Climate Change Impacts and Coastal Zone Management in Bangladesh
Thanh Pham (PhD Conferred, Working for the Government of Viet Nam) - Catchment management in Vietnam
Shafaq Masud (PhD Conferred, now working for Swiss International Development Agency) - Participatory monitoring for water resource management: planning for climate change in Western Sydney
Pratistha Tamrakar (MPhil Conferred) - Community forests and water quality in Lamatar district of Nepal
Carla Guedes (MRes Conferred) - Cultural competence in Indigenous Astronomy.
Nerida Godfrey (PhD Conferred) - Becoming-with movement: Life course mobilities and alternative cartographies of independent contemporary dancers
Caitlin Buckle (PhD Conferred, now working as a lecturer at UNSW) - Mapping mobile lives: Explorations of migrants' lived experiences through narrative, visual imagery and virtual visitation
Hai-Yuean Tualima (Scientia PhD) - Traditional Knowledge in Samoa.
Bob Fuller (PhD conferred, now a research fellow at UWS) - Songlines of the Eastern Saltwater Aboriginal Peoples.
Vanessa Conrad (MPhil conferred) - Ethical and sustainable hemp value chains in Nepal.
Trevor Leaman (PhD conferred) - Traditional Astronomical Knowledge of the Wiradjuri Peoples of Central NSW

My Engagement

Visiting Research Fellow, Institute for the Study of Human Rights, Columbia University, New York (short term, late 2018)
Research Fellow, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), Geneva
Pacific Regional Project Manager, ABS Capacity Development Initiative, Pacific
Member, Australian Centre for Intellectual Property in Agriculture (ACIPA)
Research Associate at the NGO Natural Justice: Lawyers for Communities and the Environment
Former Co-convenor, Legal Geography Study Group, Institute of Australian Geographers (IAG)
Centre member, Center for Ecosystem Sciences (CES), UNSW

Reviews, Reports, Discussion Papers & Media

Robinson, D.F. and Raven, M. (2019) 'Ethical Trade in Natural Products based on Traditional Knowledge' Trade For Development News, EIF, WTO, Geneva, https://trade4devnews.enhancedif.org/en/news/ethical-trade-natural-products-based-traditional-knowledge, 24 October 2019.
Robinson, D.F. (2018) 'What Next to Protect and Promote Indigenous Knowledge' Opinion at ICTSD, Geneva https://www.ictsd.org/opinion/what-next-to-protect-and-promote-indigenous-knowledge, 19 July 2018.
Robinson,D.F. Book Review: 'TRIPS and Developing Countries: Towards a new IP World Order?' by Ghidini et al. (eds) (2014) Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, in Geographical Research, 2015, Vol 53(1): 111-113.
Robinson, D. ‘Towards Access and Benefit-Sharing Best Practice: Pacific Case Studies.’ DSEWPAC, Canberra and GIZ, Eschborn, Germany (2012).
http://www.abs-initiative.info/uploads/media/ABS_Best_Practice_Pacific_Case_Studies_Final_01.pdf
Robinson, D. And Defrene, E. (2011) ‘Argan: A Case study on ABS?’ Union for Ethical Biotrade, presented at the Beauty of Sourcing with Respect conference in Paris, 6 May 2011.
Robinson, D. (2010) ‘Traditional Knowledge and Biological Product Derivative Patents: Benefit-Sharing and Patent Issues Relating to Camu Camu, Kakadu Plum and Açaí Plant Extracts – a discussion paper’, United Nations University Traditional Knowledge Inititative (UNU-TKI).
Robinson, D. (Oct. 2009) ‘Biopiracy Concerns Heat Up over Chilli Pepper’ Bridges Trade BioRes Review.
Savita Mullapudi and Robinson, D. (ed) (2009) Towards a Balanced Sui Generis Plant Variety Protection System for Developing Countries. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), New York. 33pp URL:http://www.undp.org/poverty/topics7_intellectual_property.shtml
Robinson, D. (March 2007) Exploring Components and Elements of Sui Generis Systems for Plant Varieties Protection and Traditional Knowledge in Asia. ICTSD-UNCTAD and IDRC, Geneva. 60pp. At:http://www.iprsonline.org
Dozens of journalistic contributions to ICTSD Bridges and BioRes over more than 10 years: http://www.ictsd.org/bridges-news/biores/overview
Additional extensive media relating to Kakadu Plum and bush foods and medicines, for example on ABC radio national, ABC TV Landline, as well as ABC Radio Local/Regional, SBS Radio World News, SBS TV The Feed, Print media such as SMH, le monde diplomatique, Deutche Welle and others.