People

Dr. Jessica Williams is a lecturer at the Centre for Civil Society and Governance in the Faculty of Social Sciences. She holds an LLB in Law from the University of Exeter and a Master of Science (International Relations) from Cardiff University. She received a Ph.D. in Social Sciences from the University of Hong Kong.

Her research interests lie in environmental policy, collaborative governance and sustainability. Her doctoral research focused on the transboundary water security issues in South and Southeast Asia, in particular, the governance and management of the major river systems originating from the Tibetan Plateau.  Her current focus is on the governance of rural areas and communities, policy design and the commons, with a focus on sustainability issues, in the peri-urban context.

She lectures on topics related to environmental policy, energy governance, globalisation and sustainability at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. 

Rural revitalisation: HSBC Rural sustainability programmes (Lai Chi Wo and AIRI), Forest village (rural stewardship) –

LABGOV (https://labgov.city/) Hong Kong and the urban commons.

Social innovation incubation for sustainability

Lok Ma Chau-MTR Partnership project

Meta change for good initiative with CCSG: Nudging for sustainable behaviour through immersive technology

Lau, S.C.Y., Thomas, M., Williams, J.M., Thurstan, R.H., Hancock, B. and Russell, B.D. (2026). Millennial-scale societal shifts drive the widespread loss of a marine ecosystem. Current Biology. Preprint: bioRxiv, doi: 10.1101/2024.05.19.594609.

Williams, J.M. Chu, V.H.Y., Lam, W.F. and Ho, S.T. (2025) Nudging into the future of virtual reality: a systematic review of sustainability orientated nudges in policy and the future role of XR. Sustainable Development. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.70145 (Impact factor: 8.2, Q1 [Development studies])

Chu, H.Y.V., Chui, C.H.K, Lam, W.F. and Williams, J.M.* (2024) Breaking down purchasing intentions: selecting policy instruments for sustainable consumption. Journal of Asian Public Policy 1-26 (Impact factor: 1.5)

Williams, J.M., Chu, H.Y.V., Lam, W.F. and Law, W.W.Y. (2024) Nested Institutions for Nested Problems: Commoning for Rural Revitalisation in the Peri-Urban Setting, International Journal of the Commons 18(1) 456-474 (Impact factor: 1.9)

Williams, J.M., Lau, S.C.Y., Thomas, M., Tsao, C.S. and Russell, B.D. (2024) A long history: social-ecological systems as drivers of oyster reef loss in the Pearl River Delta and the broader Asian region. Oceanography & Marine Biology: An Annual Review 63:163-191 (Impact Factor: 6.0, JCR ranked 4/113 and Q1 [Marine & Freshwater Biology])

Chu, V. H., Lam, W. F., & Williams, J. M.* (2023). Building robustness for rural revitalization: A social-ecological system perspective. Journal of Rural Studies, 101, 103042.

Chu V.H.Y., Law W.W.Y. & Williams J.M.* (2022). Advocacy coalitions in rural revitalisation: the roles of policy brokers and policy learning, Environmental Science and Policy, 136: 9-18.

Williams, J.M. (2022) Murky waters: the future of transboundary water governance in South and Southeast Asia. The International Journal of River Basin Management 1-11

Williams J.M., Chu V.H.Y., Lam W.F. & Law W.W.Y. (2021).  Revitalising Rural Communities, SpringerBriefs on Case Studies of Sustainable Development, Singapore: Springer 

Williams J.M. (2020). Is three a crowd? River basin institutions and the governance of the Mekong River. International Journal of Water Resources Development. DOI: 10.1080/07900627.2019.1700779

Williams J.M. (2020). The challenge of multilateralism on the Ganges River. Water Policy 22(2):153-176

Williams J.M. (2020). Discourse inertia and the governance of transboundary rivers in Asia. Earth Systems Governance DOI:10.1016/j.esg.2019.100041

Williams, J.M. (2019). The hydropower myth. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 27(12):12882-12888 DOI:10.1007/s11356-019-04657-6

Williams, J.M. (2019). Emerging costs of China’s belt and road strategy for transboundary water in south and southeast Asia. International Journal of Energy and Water Resources 3(2):81-92