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The Department of Environmental Management promotes the advancement of knowledge, through teaching and research, that will allow the sustainable use of environmental and natural resources.
Staff publications and research activities reflect the well established interdisciplinary nature of the Department; research interests include environmental policy, planning and politics, natural resources and environmental economics, ecological economics, transport studies, biodiversity and biodiversity policy, ecological evaluation, environmental ethics, environmental education, women and the environment, the Treaty of Waitangi, Māori approaches to environmental management, indigenous peoples and sustainability and socio-cultural and political perspectives of the environment.
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Item Open Access Great expectations for collective management: The mismatch between supply and demand for catchment groups(Resilience Alliance, 2025-01-30) Sinner, Jim; Tadaki, Marc; Kilvington, Margaret; Challies, Edward; Tane, Paratene; Robb, ChristinaGlobally, agri-environmental policies targeting individual farmers have made little progress on the problem of diffuse water pollution, leading to increased demand for collective approaches to manage cumulative effects. To understand the emerging supply of collective institutions to meet this demand, researchers have studied local initiatives in many countries. However, the challenges of crafting new collective institutions are still poorly understood. In Aotearoa New Zealand, many farmers have established catchment groups in response to regulation of farming practices and public concern about unhealthy waterways. These groups typically do not have the features commonly expected of collective management institutions, e.g., few have specific environmental objectives or agreed actions or practices to protect resource sustainability. Our research with catchment group leaders, Indigenous representatives, and policy actors revealed differences in their logics about and expectations of catchment groups. These differences have given rise to a mismatch between the type of collective action that is in demand by government and the type being supplied by catchment groups. To bridge the supply-demand gap, agencies should seek to better understand their own logics while acknowledging the importance of groups’ priorities, and support groups to articulate goals and strategies and how these relate to government objectives. Conversely, catchment groups can be equipped with tools and insights to help them better understand their own motivations and goals, and those of agencies and other actors, to help them navigate these complex ideas and relationships in challenging and changing environments. In settler-colonial landscapes, resources should also be provided for Indigenous groups to realize their own aspirations and to bring their genealogical narratives to these conversations. More generally, it is important for agencies and other observers to understand what motivates collective entities, rather than assume that they share the management logic that informs collective management as described in the literature.Publication Open Access Young people and future generations in environmental policy and planning in Aotearoa New Zealand : A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Planning(Lincoln University, 2024) Nelson, Angela ElizabethThis dissertation examines how young people and future generations are taken into account in environmental policy and planning in Aotearoa New Zealand. Decisions made today will profoundly impact the lives of present young people and future generations, for instance with irreversible biodiversity loss and climate change. This raises questions of how young people and future generations are taken into account, or given voice, within environmental governance. In this context, this research sought to examine how young people and future generations are included or represented in environmental policy and planning in Aotearoa, including identification of the institutions and mechanisms for intergenerational environmental justice. To do this, it draws on documentary analysis of 40 key pieces of environmental legislation, including the Environment Act 1986, Resource Management Act 1991, Climate Change Response Act 2002, and Local Government Act 2002, as well as national policy statements and a sampling of case law. Document analysis was supplemented with six in-depth key informant interviews to explore the strengths, challenges, and possibilities of existing practices for intergenerational environmental justice in Aotearoa. This dissertation argues that the current system for environmental policy and planning in Aotearoa New Zealand is not sufficient to achieve intergenerational environmental justice. The research reveals an inconsistent and narrow framing of intergenerational environmental justice in key environmental legislation and policy and suggests that young people and future generations are not effectively engaged in decision-making. The analysis suggests: (1) the importance of clarifying key definitions and goals of intergenerational environmental justice and sustainable development; (2) establishing mechanisms for representation of future generations and strengthening legislation to demonstrably take them into account; and (3) explicitly recognising young people in environmental legislation, as well as improving practices to meaningfully engage with them in environmental decision-making. It also recognises the need for wider societal shifts to facilitate meaningful and enduring change.Item Open Access A holistic marine biosecurity risk framework that is inclusive of social, cultural, economic and ecological values(Elsevier Ltd., 2025-02) Campbell, ML; Hewitt, ChadEffectively managing non-indigenous marine species risks demands swift, transparent decisions amid limited data and in an environment where conflicting interest across environmental, economic, social, and cultural realms exists. Conventional risk assessment tools often fail to comprehensively evaluate these risks together, leading to stakeholder dissatisfaction, conflicts and poor biosecurity outcomes. To address this, we present a structured 7-step marine biosecurity risk framework. It systematically assesses incursion's ecological, economic, social and cultural impacts, encourages stakeholder engagement and promotes inclusive decision-making. Steps include defining contexts, setting objectives, estimating consequences, determining management options, evaluating trade-offs, implementing decisions, and communicating risks effectively. A simulation using Sabella spallanzanii illustrates its application. By integrating diverse perspectives and employing audience-centred communication plans, our framework facilitates informed and equitable decisions. It standardises data examination, aiding in addressing ecological, economic, social, and cultural integrity amidst non-indigenous marine species threats.Item Open Access Disastrous futures? Confronting the scale, urgency andcomplexity of our crises: Introduction to the special issue(Taylor & Francis, 2024-02-03) Matthewman, Steve; Goode, Luke; Cretney, RavenWhen then-Climate Change Commissioner James Renwick first saw footage of Auckland's Anniversary Weekend floods (2023), he mistook the images for Bangladesh. ‘“Oh it's Auckland?!” My mouth fell open. I just haven't seen those sorts of images in this country before’ he told a New Zealand Geographic journalist (quoted in Woulfe Citation2023). Worse soon followed. Cyclone Gabrielle hit parts of the country shortly afterwards. Gabrielle has been called ‘an unprecedented weather event’ (McAnulty quoted in McClure Citation2023), the country's ‘largest climate event to date’ (Asia Insurance Review Citation2023). Early indications are that it will be as expensive as the Canterbury Earthquake Sequence (Guinto Citation2023), which, at the time, ‘was the second costliest insurance event of 2010 and the third costliest earthquake in history’ (Bevere et al. Citation2011, p. 6). Arguably these events are but preludes to our disaster-laden future.Item Open Access Navigating adaptive futures: Analysing the scope of political possibilities for climate adaptation(Taylor & Francis Group, 2025) Cretney, Raven; White, I; Hanna, CThe growing scale and intensity of climate change poses a substantial challenge to the status quo of society and politics. Adapting to the risks associated with extreme weather events and changing climatic conditions will require the re-imagination of many aspects of politics and society. Therefore, climate change can be framed as a problem of imagination; one in which our relationship to the future is central to understanding how possibilities in the present are perceived. This research analyses public submissions made on New Zealand’s first draft National Adaptation Plan to understand how future climate adaptation is framed and imagined by different groups. In analysing submissions we identify and describe four thematic ‘adaptive futures’ that each argue for varied amounts of socio-political change from the status quo: data driven resilience; growth and opportunity; nature-society change; and flaxroots transformation. Underpinning these adaptive futures are emerging advocacy coalitions that seek to shape what is seen as possible, imaginatively, politically and materially. Our analysis also highlights how risks and opportunities are perceived by whom, and insights into attempts to delineate the boundaries of adaptive imagination and political possibility. Glossary of Māori terms: hapū: kinship group; iwi: extended kinship or tribal group; kaitiakitanga: intergenerational sustainability; kaupapa Māori: Māori approach, a philosophical doctrine, incorporating the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values of Māori society; kawa: protocols; mana: authority, dignity, control, governance & power; mana whenua: territorial rights, power from the land, authority over land or territory, jurisdiction over land or territory; te ao Māori: the Māori worldview; tikanga: correct procedures, lore & practises Definitions sourced from Blackett et al. 2022 & Te Aka Māori DictionaryItem Open Access Towards a tika political science: Restoring balance, reflecting our context(Cambridge University Press, 2024) Azarmandi, M; Beausoleil, E; Bickerton, SH; Choi, S; Fadgen, T; Greener, B; Gregory, T; Hayward, J; Lovering, I; Nissen, Sylvia; Powles, A; Sardelić, J; Schick, K; Skilling, P; Tan, LThis article is a rejoinder to Annie Te One and Maria Bargh’s article published in The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education in 2023, “Towards a Fairer and More Tika Political Science and Politics: Are Political Science Programs Equipping Students Adequately for Aotearoa Realities?” (vol. 52, no. 2).Item Open Access Facilitating the ecosystem-based management transition in Aotearoa New Zealand(Taylor & Francis Group, 2025) Talbot-Jones, J; Macpherson, E; Jorgensen, E; Allison, A; Fisher, K; Hewitt, J; Paul, A; Rennie, Hamish; Zylla, AIn response to growing social and ecological pressures, ecosystem-based management (EBM) has been proffered as an alternative governance regime for marine and coastal systems in Aotearoa New Zealand. The challenge of how to engender a transition to EBM remains, however. This paper investigates the proposition that Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) can be a tool to drive the EBM transition by analysing the ocean and marine governance transition in Kaikōura over the past 20 years. The findings suggest that taking a top-down MSP approach to governance can crowd out some of the principles of EBM, but MSP can support the implementation of EBM principles if sufficient attention is given to developing institutions and processes that prioritise local decision-making and provide sufficient support for ongoing engagement and participation by local actors.Item Open Access Land use control under the Resource Management Act : Submission to Ministry for the Environment on the McShane "think piece"(Lincoln University. Environmental Management and Design Division., 1998-06) Hughey, Ken F. D.; Kinghorn, Nicola; Kissling, Chris; Montgomery, Roy; Rixecker, Stefanie S.; Swaffield, Simon R.In accordance with the invitation made to provide written feedback under the framework of questions drafted by the Ministry, please find enclosed our submissions dealing with Questions 1-4, 6-7, and 9- 12. Our response only covers a selection of the stipulated questions because we chose to construct a Divisional team approach, and this meant individual participants focused upon their interests and areas of expertise.Item Open Access Non-governmental organisation (NGO) participation in New Zealand's biodiversity strategy : Summary of focus group proceedings(Lincoln University. Environmental Management and Design Division., 1998-11) Harrison, AndrewThis report summarises the results of a cooperative research programme (focus group sessions) - between a research student from Lincoln University and the Biodiversity Strategy working group - which contributes toward developing the public participation process for New Zealand's Biodiversity Strategy. The research programme included a series of five focus group sessions that involved forty Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) and Maori organisation representatives. This report attempts first and foremost to provide an impartial summary of the focus group proceedings - a summary that is free of evaluation or critical assessment and, rather, conveys the balance and range of views expressed across the five focus group sessions. For this reason the participants original comments are used wherever this is possible, indicated as italicised text within this report. Some comments are offered by the author and the Biodiversity Project Group (after the report overview) and critical assessment of the focus group results is provided in the author's Master of Science research which complements this summary and is held by the Department of Conservation and Lincoln University Libraries. In this section, background information to New Zealand's Biodiversity Strategy is provided, followed by a description of the focus group research (purpose, aims, objectives and methods) and structure of this report.Item Open Access Views on biosecurity and food security as we work toward reconciling an approach that addresses two global problems for a sustainable outcome(Elsevier B.V., 2024-09-27) Campbell, Marnie L; Hewitt, Chad; Le, Chi TUBiosecurity acts as a safeguard for food security, yet efforts to meet food security targets can exacerbate biosecurity pressures. Our study highlights the critical interrelationship between biosecurity and food security, which is often underrepresented. Decisions favoring either food security or biosecurity involve short- and long-term trade-offs. To work toward a balanced and sustainable approach, it is crucial to understand these links. We examined experts’ views on food security, biosecurity, and their interconnection through a 13-question survey with 162 international experts from 23 countries. Our findings reveal a consensus on the importance of food security but also show confusion in terminology, sociodemographic biases, and a lack of common ground between disciplines. This underscores the need for transdisciplinary approaches to address global food and biosecurity issues effectively, balancing both domains’ interests for sustainable outcomes.Item Open Access Agent-based trust and reputation model in smart IoT environments(MDPI AG, 2024-11) Al-Shamaileh, Mohammad; Anthony, Patricia; Charters, StuartThe Internet of Things (IoT) enables smart devices to connect, share and exchange data with each other through the internet. Since an IoT environment is open and dynamic, IoT participants may need to collaborate with unknown entities with no proven track record. To ensure successful collaboration among these entities, it is important to establish a mechanism that ensures all entities operate in a trustworthy manner. We present a trust and reputation model that can be used to select the best service provider in an IoT environment. Our proposed model, IoT-CADM (Comprehensive Agent-based Decision-making Model for IoT) is an agent-based decentralised trust and reputation model that can be used to select the best service provider for a particular service based on multi-context quality of service. IoT-CADM is developed using a smart multi-agent IoT environment where information about entities is collected and evaluated using a trust and reputation algorithm. We evaluated the performance of the proposed model against some other well-known models in a simulated smart factory supply chain system. Our experimental results showed that the proposed IoT-CADM achieved the best performance.Item Open Access Energy and environment in New Zealand(University of Canterbury and Lincoln College. Joint Centre for Environmental Sciences., 1983) Odum, Elisabeth; Scott, Graeme; Odum, HowardModern Biology courses often have a wider aim than simply introducing students to the elements of biological science. More and more teachers and curricula designers are seeking to provide a course that enables students to use their biological training to evaluate the relationship between man and nature - between human systems and natural systems. This change of emphasis arises out of a recognition that the impact of human systems on nature has been badly managed and that this mismanagement has important implications for us all. The next generation will have to cope with a complex of problems stemming from interactions between population, resources and environment. The first step towards coping is a clear understanding of the problem.Item Open Access Liquid fuel demand on New Zealand agriculture(University of Canterbury and Lincoln College. Joint Centre for Enviromental Sciences., 1983-12) McChesney, I. G.The second "oil shock" in 1979, and the fuel restrictions which followed, highlighted the dependence of farming on liquid fuels. In particular the diesel quota system illicited an immediate response from farmers requesting additional fuel, to the point where the system became virtually unworkable. Amongst other things, implementation of the 1979 demand restraint measures identified a clear need for greater understanding of the liquid fuel demand features of the farming sector. This report has two main objectives, to identify the determinants of liquid fuel demand; and to provide a detailed data base on current liquid fuel consumption patterns. During 1978/79, 17% of the diesel and 9% of the petrol used in New Zealand was used by farmers and the farm servicing sector. Two thirds of the fuel was used for transportation. Production type, technology and activity demand are identified as primary determinants of fuel demand. Detailed fuel use analysis of each of these determinants is outlined in the Appendices. The most fundamental determinant of demand though is relative fuel cost. An examination of farmers' responsiveness to fuel price increases indicates a reduction in fuel demand since 1979 (partially in response to fuel price increases) mainly resulting from technology changes. However, the combination of rising fuel prices and declining terms of trade have pushed average relative fuel costs (cost of fuel as a percentage of gross income) from about 2% during the 1960s and early 1970 to an estimated 5.4% in 1982. Most other sections of the community in New Zealand now have cheaper, alternative fuels available for transport and other mobile applications (e.g. CNG and LPG). However, on the surface at least, farmers' access to the advantages of these fuels appears to be quite limited because of the storage and transport costs associated with these fuels. This issue deserves closer attention because it implies that farmers will continue to be heavily reliant on imported fuels in the forseeable future. Data reliability will be a continuing problem for further farm fuel demand studies. Some suggestions are made for improving the data base.Item Open Access Rural and depopulation and resettlement(University of Canterbury and Lincoln College. Joint Centre for Environmental Sciences., 1980-02) Barker, W. H.; Brown, H. J.This is the third of four background papers designed to explore priority land use issues in the rural sector. This paper is concerned with Rural Depopulation and Resettlement. The paper outlines the scales, nature and geographical extent of rural depopulation and resettlement. It examines the factors influencing population movement, explores the social, economic and environmental effects of rural depopulation on both expelling and receiving areas; looks at policy implications and evalues rural economic and social development opportunities.Item Open Access A postgraduate programme in resource management(University of Canterbury and Lincoln College. Joint Centre for Enviromental Sciences., 1976-08) Corbet, Philip SThis booklet is designed to make available in a systematic way working papers used for administering the postgraduate training programme in resource management established recently by the University of Canterbury and Lincoln College at the Joint Centre for Environmental Sciences. The material presented here refers to 1975 and 1976, the third and fourth years of the programme's operation.Item Open Access Problems and issues in the planning and management of aquatic reserves in New Zealand(University of Canterbury and Lincoln College. Joint Centre for Environmental Sciences., 1980-11) Cunningham, E. B.The purpose of this paper is to present a critical analysis of reserve planning and management in New Zealand as they relate to longterm ecological stability in freshwater ecosystems. The intent is not to criticise the 1977 Reserves Act or the Planning Guide but rather to complement and supplement those documents. This paper is intended to identify problems and issues and provoke thought, recognising that the solutions must come from the citizens of New Zealand and must be determined in the context of their long term social and economic aspirations.Item Open Access Preservation and recreation(University of Canterbury and Lincoln College. Joint Centre for Environmental Sciences, Davie Lovell-Smith & Partners, 1979-10) Barker, W. H.; Brown, A. J.This is the second of four background papers designed to explore priority land use issues in the rural sector. This paper is concerned with preservation and recreation and is divided into two parts: the first deals with preservation: what is meant by preservation; why it is necessary to preserve; what kinds of resources need preserving; where these resources are, how preservation can be achieved and the effects of preservation. The second part of the paper deals with recreation: what is recreation; why it is necessary; what kinds of resources are required; how provision is and can be achieved and the effects of recreation.Item Open Access The proposed aluminium smelter at Aramoana : Some issues and implications(Lincoln College & University of Canterbury, 1981-08) Cable, C. G.; Cronin, K. E.; Coutts, B. J.; Dedekind, M.; Feasey, G. D.; Froude, V. A.; Glennie, J. M.; Kearns, N. B. F.; McCallum, L. R.; McGregor, G. A.; Ryde, J. L.; Whiteside, K. C.Students enrolled for the M.Sc. (Resource Management) are required to undertake a case study. Class members come from a wide range of disciplines or professions and have to work as an interdisciplinary team as they address a major issue in resource management. This report is part of the 1981 case study which was concerned with the proposal to establish an aluminium smelter at Aramoana. Case study reports are not normally published. However, in view of the public interest in this proposal this report is published in the hope that it might contribute to a better understanding of the issues involved in the Aramoana proposal. Readers of this report must, however, understand the constraints that applied to this study .Item Open Access A model of faulty and faultless disagreement for post-hoc assessments of knowledge utilization in evidence-based policymaking(Springer Nature, 2024-08-09) Heesen, R; Rubin, H; Schneider, MD; Woolaston, K; Bortolus, A; Chukwu, EE; Kaufer, R; Mitova, V; Schwenkenbecher, A; Schwindt, E; Slanickova, H; Sogbanmu, TO; Hewitt, ChadWhen evidence-based policymaking is so often mired in disagreement and controversy, how can we know if the process is meeting its stated goals? We develop a novel mathematical model to study disagreements about adequate knowledge utilization, like those regarding wild horse culling, shark drumlines and facemask policies during pandemics. We find that, when stakeholders disagree, it is frequently impossible to tell whether any party is at fault. We demonstrate the need for a distinctive kind of transparency in evidence-based policymaking, which we call transparency of reasoning. Such transparency is critical to the success of the evidence-based policy movement, as without it, we will be unable to tell whether in any instance a policy was in fact based on evidence.Item Open Access The Anthropocene Obscene: Poetic inquiry and evocative evidence of inequality(Wiley on behalf of Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), 2024-09) Thomsen, DC; Smith, Timothy; Elrick-Barr, CEPoetic inquiry is used to highlight contrasting lived experiences of vulnerability and worsening socio-ecological outcomes among Australia's fastest growing coastal communities. Our approach interweaves multiple participant voices across local and national scales to juxtapose the contrasts of inequality, enmesh social and ecological experiences, and ask reflexive questions of audiences. We offer an evocative portrayal of inequality to the growing body of work demonstrating that unequal and intensifying vulnerabilities are created and sustained through complicated, non-adaptive and hierarchical social systems. We demonstrate that poetic inquiry can interrogate complex system phenomena and broad concepts, such as the Anthropocene, to distil critical and systemic issues while retaining undeniable connections with the deeply personal implications of socio-ecological change. Hence, poetic inquiry can serve analytical and descriptive purposes towards an emotional and political aesthetic providing a compelling reorientation from more conventional modes of inquiry and representation. In this study, the misuse of power and privilege in the Anthropocene is reduced and revealed as the Obscene.