Professor Richard Kingsford is a conservation biologist working on Australian rivers and wetlands, primarily in the Murray-Darling and Lake Eyre Basins. His research has influenced the policy and management, particularly in relation to environmental flows and protecting rivers. He is the Director for the Centre for Ecosystem Science at the University of NSW. He is the current President of the Society for Conservation Biology in Oceania. He has spent many years on different committees in the Lake Eyre Basin and is currently a member of the Government Scientific Advisory Panel.