Nadja Kunz

Biography

Canada Research Chair in Mine Water Management and Stewardship (NSERC, Tier 2), jointly appointed across the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs (SPPGA) and the Norman B Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering.

Nadja is driven by a passion for transitioning the mining and extractives sector towards more sustainable water management practices. At the mine site level, Nadja develops novel engineering models to improve quantification of water risk, and investigates organizational constraints to implementing optimal system-level solutions. At the regional level, Nadja studies the evolving role of the mining sector in water stewardship and governance.

In addition to her academic credentials, Nadja maintains close links to practice. She currently consults as a Water Specialist for the International Finance Corporation where she provides technical expertise to a Voluntary Code of Practice on Water Management for the South Gobi Region in Mongolia, as well as other projects globally. She is also a member of the academic directorate for the Canadian International Resources and Development Institute (CIRDI).

Awards

• Awards in the SMI-UQ Three Minute Thesis competition (People’s Choice – 2012; Best Presentation – 2010; Runner Up – 2009) showcasing an ability in science communication, 2009-12
• Award for best team project – “A Cellular Automata Model for Common Pool Resource Management” (with collaborators A. Fajardo, Z.A. Hamstead and M. Sachs), Santa Fe Institute Complex Systems Summer School, 2011
• Wentworth Group Science Leaders Program, 2010
• Commendable Presentation at the SMI RHD conference, 2009
• Valedictorian, July 2007 EPSA Graduation Ceremony, 2007

Education

• University of Queensland, 2013, Ph.D. Interdisciplinary Engineering
• University of Queensland, 2007, Bachelor of Chemical Engineering , First Class Honours
• University of Queensland, 2007, Bachelor of Business Management , Dean’s Honour Roll

Teaching

• MINE 455/590X

Selected Publications

• Boldbaatar, D., Kunz, N.C., Werker, E. (In press, corrected proof) Improved resource governance through transparency: Evidence from Mongolia, The Extractive Industries and Society. www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214790X18300650
• Pareja, C., Honey-Rosés, J., Kunz, N.C., Xavier, A., Fraser, J. (2018) What Participation? Distinguishing Water Monitoring Programs in Mining Regions Based on Community Participation, Water,vol.10, issue 10. Available at: www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/10/10/1325
• Fraser, J.; Kunz, N.C. (2018) Water Stewardship: Attributes of Collaborative Partnerships between Mining Companies and Communities. Water, vol.10, issue 8. Available at: www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/10/8/1081
• Jiang, D.J., Fischer, M., Huang, Z., Kunz, N.C. (2018) Identifying drivers of China’s provincial wastewater reuse outcomes using Qualitative Comparative Analysis. The Journal of Industrial Ecology, vol. 22, issue 2, pp.369-376. Available at: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jiec.12584
• Kunz, N.C., Kastelle, T., Moran C.J. (2017) Social network analysis reveals that communication gaps may prevent effective water management in the mining sector. The Journal of Cleaner Production, vol 148, p. 915-922. Available at: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095965261730197X
• Kunz, N. C. (2016) Catchment-based water management in the mining industry: Challenges and solutions. The Extractive Industries and Society, vol 3, issue 4, p.972–977.
• Kunz, N.C., Fischer, M., Ingold, K., Hering, J. (2016) Drivers for and against municipal wastewater recycling: A review. Water Science and Technology, vol 73, issue 2, p.251-259.
• Kunz, N.C. and Moran C.J. (2016) The utility of a systems approach for managing strategic water risks at a mine site level. Water Resources and Industry, vol. 13, p.1-6.
• Kunz, N.C., Fischer, M., Ingold, K., Hering, J. (2015) Why do some water utilities recycle more than others? A Qualitative Comparative Analysis in New South Wales, Australia. Environmental Science and Technology.
• Kunz, N.C. (2015) Catchment-based water management in the mining industry: Challenges and solutions, Sustainable Development Indicators in the Mining Industry Conference 2015: Integrating Economics, Community, Environment and Governance. Vancouver, Canada, 12-15 July 2015.
• Moran, C.J., Lodhia, S., N.C. Kunz, and Huisingh, D. (2014) The sustainability agenda of the minerals and energy supply and demand network: an integrative analysis of ecological, ethical, economic, and technological dimensions: An Introduction. Journal of Cleaner Production, vol 84.
• Moran, C.J. and Kunz, N.C. (2014) Sustainability as it pertains to resources sector supply and demand for minerals and energy: A new interpretative perspective for assessing progress. Journal of Cleaner Production, vol 84.
• N.C. Kunz and Moran C.J. (2014) Sharing the benefits from water as a new approach to regional water targets for mining companies, Journal of Cleaner Production, vol 84.
• Kunz, N.C. (2014) Towards a typology for categorising inter-firm sustainability partnerships, Gronen Research Conference 2014: How can corporate responsibility tackle critical global sustainability challenges? Helsinki, Finland, 16-18 June 2014.
• Kunz, N. C., Moran, C. J., Kastelle, T. (2013) Conceptualising “coupling” for sustainability implementation in the industrial sector: A review of the field and projection of future research opportunities, Journal of Cleaner Production, vol 53.
• Kunz, N. C., Moran, C. J., Kastelle, T. (2013) Implementing an integrated approach to water management by matching problem complexity with management responses: a case study of a mine site water committee, Journal of Cleaner Production, vol 52.
• Woodley, A., Danoucaras, N., McCombe, C., Kunz, N.C. (2013) A robust methodological approach for mine site water accounting, Water in Mining, Brisbane, Australia, 26-28 November 2013.
• Kunz, N.C. and Woodley, A. (2013), Improving the accuracy of the mine site water balance in high rainfall environments, Water in Mining, Brisbane, Australia, 26-28 November 2013.
• Kunz, N.C., Moran, C.J. and Kastelle, T. (2011) Implementing sustainability in the industrial sector: Matching problem complexity with management response, International Conference for the Society for Sustainability and Environmental Engineering (SSEE) 24-26 October 2011, Brisbane, Australia.
• Kunz, N.C., Moran, C.J. and Kastelle, T. (2010) Integrating physical and human management systems for effective water resources management. Conference of the European Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and Production, and Environmental Management for Sustainable Universities (ERSCP-EMSU), 25-29 October 2010, Delft, Netherlands.