My research will look at land-use change and natural hazards in Java’s highlands, using the Dieng volcanic complex of Central Java, Indonesia as a case study. I would like to understand the political ecology of land-use change in volcanically active environments and how this inadvertently places people and assets at risk. I would also like to understand the factors that influence how hazard knowledge is acted on by the state and local communities. By understanding these issues, I hope that risk minimisation solutions, which consider people’s every day conditions alongside DRR concerns, can be developed. My past research has focused on mangrove forests and women’s livelihoods following the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.