Dr Sunny Sanderson

Dr Sanderson joins ID with a background in international project coordination, research-for-development, stakeholder engagement and cross-cultural collaboration. Her recent work was on an ACIAR- and DFAT-funded One Health project, looking at agricultural land-use change and zoonotic malaria in Indonesia. Her experience spans both terrestrial and marine systems, having worked across biodiversity, livelihoods, biosecurity, marine sustainability, blue economy, citizen science, and science communication roles.

She has a PhD in political ecology and human geography, a research master’s in ecology, and long-standing experience working in Indonesia and the broader Asia-Pacific region. Her past projects include socio-economic impacts of African Swine Fever in the Philippines, gibbon and orangutan field projects in Borneo, and research on oil-palm development, Indonesian labour migration, and rural livelihoods in Malaysia. Dr Sanderson strongly believes in taking a holistic approach to complex challenges, equally valuing environmental and social sustainability.