Don Nelson

Professor, Department of Anthropology

dnelson@uga.edu

Department of Anthropology Profile

Don Nelson is an ecological anthropologist with a PhD from the University of Arizona, Department of Anthropology, with a minor in Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis. He has been on the faculty at UGA since 2009, following a post-doc at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia, UK. During the last 15 years, his interdisciplinary work has focused on the human dimensions of climate variability and change, analyzing public and private adaptations and how social and political relations shape decision-making and policy outcomes. Much of Nelson’s research takes place in water-limited environments including the US Southwest, Northeast Brazil, and Southern Africa, where he examines drought and water management processes. Current research includes work on water security, institutional assessments and the role of scientific information in promoting democratic and equitable water allocation procedures and outcomes. He is increasingly focused on water ethics, which influence all management decisions and negotiations.