Nick teaches geography at the University of Oxford where he is a Fellow of St Anne’s College. His main research interest is in the nature and human use of deserts and their margins, environments commonly referred to collectively as drylands. Land degradation, desertification and drought are topics of particular focus – their causes, impacts and how societies cope with and adapt to them.

He has worked and advised on these issues as a consultant to several United Nations agencies, including the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), as well as the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and the UK government’s Department for International Development (DfID).

Nick has most recently worked with UNCCD developing their policy framework for sand and dust storms following the UN General Assembly resolution on the issue in 2015. He is also an Affiliate at Garama 3C: Climate Change Consultancy.