Professor Dr. Alaya Spencer Cotton

Biography

Alaya Spencer-Cotton is a Research Fellow at the UWA Centre for Environmental Economics and Policy (CEEP) and the UWA Oceans Institute (OI). With a keen focus on understanding how people value the natural world, she examines preferences and behaviors in decision-making regarding environmental policies. Inspired by the diverse landscapes of Western Australia, her work emphasizes the importance of incorporating the value of natural resources into policy planning. In 2018, she received the UK Agricultural Economics Society Prize for her early-career research essay. Alaya is completing her PhD research, which is focused on social license to operate for offshore renewable wind energy in Australia, and she engages in various research areas assessing human values of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Her educational background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Marine Environmental Science from Murdoch University and a Master’s in Environmental Resource Economics from the Australian National University. Alaya's research aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, striving for the effective integration of environmental economics into policy frameworks.

Research Interests