Michelle LIM
Full-time Faculty
Associate Professor of Law
Yong Pung How School of Law
YPHSL
- PhD, University of New England, Armidale, Australia, 2012
- Bachelor of Science (Ecosystem Management) / Bachelor of Laws (Hons I), University of New England, Armidale, Australia, 2008
Academic Positions Held
Current Appointment:
- Associate Professor of Law, Singapore Management University, Jul 2022-Present
Other Positions
- Senior Lecturer, Macquarie University, July 2020-June 2022
- Lecturer, University of Adelaide, January 2017-Jun 2020
- Lecturer, Griffith University, July 2015-Dec 2016
- Research Associate, UNESCO Centre for Water Law, Policy & Science, University of Dundee September 2014- May 2015
- Post-doctoral Researcher, UNESCO Centre for Water Law, Policy & Science, University of Dundee September 2012- August 2014
Research Areas / Areas of Specialisation
- Biodiversity Law
- Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)
- Futures studies and the law
- Fiction as legal method
- Transdisciplinary methodology
Selected Publications
- Google Scholar author page: https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=PmyMY80AAAAJ&hl=en
- Lim, Michelle (ed.) (2019) Charting Environmental Law Futures in the Anthropocene, Springer, 245pp
- Lim, Michelle (2021) “Fiction as Legal Method – Imagining with the more-than-human to awaken our plural selves”
- Lim, Michelle (2021) "Extinction: hidden in plain sight–Can stories of 'the last' unearth environmental law's unspeakable truth?." Griffith Law Review. 1-32. (Awarded the 2021 Law and Society Association of Australia and New Zealand publication prize for a published scholarly article or book chapter)
- Lim, Michelle (2021). "Biodiversity 2050: Can the Convention on Biological Diversity Deliver a World Living in Harmony with Nature?." Yearbook of International Environmental Law : 1-23.
- Author, IPBES-IPCC Co-Sponsored Workshop Report on Biodiversity and Climate Change (2021). One of 50 global experts (and only legal scholar) selected to contribute to this report. https://ipbes.net/events/ipbes-ipcc-co-sponsored-workshop-report-biodiversity-and-climate-change
- Author (Fellow), Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) (2019) ‘Global Assessment’. https://ipbes.net/global-assessment
- Lim, Michelle, Peter Søgaard Jørgensen, Carina Wyborn (2018) ‘Reframing the Sustainable Development Goals to achieve sustainability in the Anthropocene’ 23(3): 22 Ecology and Society 1-19. Available at: https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol23/iss3/art22/
- Lim, Michelle (2016) ‘Governance criteria for effective transboundary biodiversity conservation’, 16 International Environmental Agreements 797-813.
- Lim, Michelle (2014) ‘Is water different from biodiversity- governance criteria for the effective management of transboundary resources’, 23 Review of European, Comparative and International Environmental Law 96-110
- Lim, Michelle (2014) ‘Strengthening the legal and institutional effectiveness for transboundary biodiversity conservation in the ‘Heart of Borneo’, 17 Asia Pacific Journal of Environmental Law 65-90.
Research Areas and Areas of Expertise
Strategic Priorities
HighlightsMichelle Lim is an internationally recognised scholar and educator whose interdisciplinary work at the intersection of biodiversity law, sustainability, and equity is shaping futures-oriented approaches to environmental governance and legal education.
Pioneers futures-oriented, equity-driven legal research that bridges science, policy, and creative practice; recognised for methodological innovation in integrating affective, narrative, and interdisciplinary approaches; significant influence on global biodiversity governance (IPBES, IPCC, IUCN); awarded for scholarly excellence and leadership in environmental law; advances legal education through experiential and transformative pedagogies; active in shaping international research agendas and policy dialogues.
Focused research areas include Futures-oriented biodiversity law; advancing equity and sustainability under environmental change; legal and institutional frameworks for transboundary conservation; affective and creative engagement with environmental law; integration of customary law, storytelling, and intangible cultural heritage in sustainability governance.
Pioneers futures-oriented, equity-driven legal research that bridges science, policy, and creative practice; recognised for methodological innovation in integrating affective, narrative, and interdisciplinary approaches; significant influence on global biodiversity governance (IPBES, IPCC, IUCN); awarded for scholarly excellence and leadership in environmental law; advances legal education through experiential and transformative pedagogies; active in shaping international research agendas and policy dialogues.
Focused research areas include Futures-oriented biodiversity law; advancing equity and sustainability under environmental change; legal and institutional frameworks for transboundary conservation; affective and creative engagement with environmental law; integration of customary law, storytelling, and intangible cultural heritage in sustainability governance.
Areas of Expertise
biodiversity and human well-beingsustainabilityinterdisciplinary methodologies (law and sciencelaw & humanities)multi-sp
Past Awarded Grant
- Principal Investigator (with Dr Patrick Shi and Pam Wan) awarded $170,000 from Singapore Ministry of Sustainability and Environment's SG EcoFund. Project: Nature-Food Futures Learning Precinct at SMU.
- Primary Investigator, Project title: "Enhancing law students' sustainability competencies and nature connectedness through hands-on learning with native edibles", Educational Research Seed Grant, Centre for Teaching Excellence, Singapore Management University, $9000 SGD 2024-2026 (with Patrick Shi).
- Chief Investigator, Project title: "Australia-China Joint Workshop on Biodiversity Law and Governance: Towards a World Living in Harmony with Nature by 2050", Australian Government National Foundation for Australia-China Relations (with Nengye Liu (Lead), Shawkat Alam and Paul Govind) 2019 - 2020.
- "Nature's Contribution to People and South Australian Law and Policy", Barbara Kidman Fellowship, University of Adelaide (AU $29,916), 2019.
- IPBES Fellows - Future Earth Workshop, Medellín, Colombia, 16-24 March 2018 (18,000€ from Future Earth and co-funding from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the Norwegian Environment Agency).
Latest Publications
Showing up to 6 latest publications from the past 5 years.
- K Owens, M Lim, R Killean, T Stephens, N GrahamNature Reviews Biodiversity, 1-3, 2026
- E Beringen, N Liu, M LimAustralian Journal of Maritime & Ocean Affairs 16 (4), 379-409, 2024
- Offsetting [2024]P Govind, D Houston, M Lim, A McGregor, E O’Gorman, ...Environmental Humanities 16 (2), 426-432, 2024
- M LIMHart Publishing, 2024
- M Lim, N Liu, S SchachererWiley, 2024
- M LimThe Anthropocene Judgments Project, 286-300, 2023
This highlights are AI-generated content using the faculty's CV.
- PhD, University of New England, Armidale, Australia, 2012
- Bachelor of Science (Ecosystem Management) / Bachelor of Laws (Hons I), University of New England, Armidale, Australia, 2008
Academic Positions Held
Current Appointment:
- Associate Professor of Law, Singapore Management University, Jul 2022-Present
Other Positions
- Senior Lecturer, Macquarie University, July 2020-June 2022
- Lecturer, University of Adelaide, January 2017-Jun 2020
- Lecturer, Griffith University, July 2015-Dec 2016
- Research Associate, UNESCO Centre for Water Law, Policy & Science, University of Dundee September 2014- May 2015
- Post-doctoral Researcher, UNESCO Centre for Water Law, Policy & Science, University of Dundee September 2012- August 2014
Research Areas / Areas of Specialisation
- Biodiversity Law
- Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)
- Futures studies and the law
- Fiction as legal method
- Transdisciplinary methodology
Selected Publications
- Google Scholar author page: https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=PmyMY80AAAAJ&hl=en
- Lim, Michelle (ed.) (2019) Charting Environmental Law Futures in the Anthropocene, Springer, 245pp
- Lim, Michelle (2021) “Fiction as Legal Method – Imagining with the more-than-human to awaken our plural selves”
- Lim, Michelle (2021) "Extinction: hidden in plain sight–Can stories of 'the last' unearth environmental law's unspeakable truth?." Griffith Law Review. 1-32. (Awarded the 2021 Law and Society Association of Australia and New Zealand publication prize for a published scholarly article or book chapter)
- Lim, Michelle (2021). "Biodiversity 2050: Can the Convention on Biological Diversity Deliver a World Living in Harmony with Nature?." Yearbook of International Environmental Law : 1-23.
- Author, IPBES-IPCC Co-Sponsored Workshop Report on Biodiversity and Climate Change (2021). One of 50 global experts (and only legal scholar) selected to contribute to this report. https://ipbes.net/events/ipbes-ipcc-co-sponsored-workshop-report-biodiversity-and-climate-change
- Author (Fellow), Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) (2019) ‘Global Assessment’. https://ipbes.net/global-assessment
- Lim, Michelle, Peter Søgaard Jørgensen, Carina Wyborn (2018) ‘Reframing the Sustainable Development Goals to achieve sustainability in the Anthropocene’ 23(3): 22 Ecology and Society 1-19. Available at: https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol23/iss3/art22/
- Lim, Michelle (2016) ‘Governance criteria for effective transboundary biodiversity conservation’, 16 International Environmental Agreements 797-813.
- Lim, Michelle (2014) ‘Is water different from biodiversity- governance criteria for the effective management of transboundary resources’, 23 Review of European, Comparative and International Environmental Law 96-110
- Lim, Michelle (2014) ‘Strengthening the legal and institutional effectiveness for transboundary biodiversity conservation in the ‘Heart of Borneo’, 17 Asia Pacific Journal of Environmental Law 65-90.