Tai Loureiro

Lecturer and Director of ARISE
School of Biological Sciences, UWA Oceans Institute
University of Western Australia (UWA)
tai.loureiro@uwa.edu.au

Tai Loureiro is a Brazilian aquatic ecologist working to answer one practical question: how can better evidence help societies make fairer, more sustainable and better-financed ocean action? Based at the University of Western Australia, she leads ARISE – Aquatic Research for Impact, Sustainability and Evidence – where her research connects aquatic ecology, ecosystem services, blue economy, ocean finance and governance.

Tai’s early work in Brazil focused on invertebrate ecology, biological invasions, and the conservation and management of aquatic systems, laying the ecological foundation for her later work on the links between ecosystem condition, human well-being, sustainable development and policy. Her current work brings these strands together through ocean accounting, an integrated framework that connects ecological, economic, social and governance information to support sustainable ocean planning, conservation, restoration and investment in nature-positive outcomes.

She has supported ocean accounting initiatives across Sub-Saharan Africa, Indonesia, the Pacific Islands and South America, working with governments, NGOs, multilateral organisations and research partners to translate ecological, economic and social data into policy-ready indicators and accounts. She is a member of the SEEA Ocean Working Group, the Ocean Panel Expert Group and the Advisory Committee of the Ocean Decade Programme on Sustainable Ocean Planning. She also serves on the Organising Committee of the Global Ocean Accounts Partnership Social Accounts Working Group, which works to ensure that social, cultural and equity dimensions are recognised in ocean accounting and decision-making.

Across these roles, Tai’s work makes the human–ocean relationship visible, measurable, and actionable by showing how people and economies depend on aquatic ecosystems, how benefits and risks are distributed, and how evidence can guide choices that protect ecosystems while supporting just, responsible and resilient development.