A University of Waikato researcher has received $1.399 million in funding through the Government’s Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge programme to explore the risks and uncertainty that the New Zealand marine environment faces from multiple industries and climate change.
Dr Joanne Ellis and her team will determine available risk assessment tools that can be easily communicated to Māori and other stakeholders. They also plan to explore the ways uncertainties and social and ecological risks accumulate during decision-making. The research will also consider future environmental factors like climate change or the emergence of new marine-based industries which impact the marine ecosystem.
“We are working closely with the Department of Conservation, iwi, regional councils, industry, conservation organisations, the Environmental Protection Authority, the Ministry for Primary Industries and the Ministry for the Environment to co-develop the research program,” says Dr Ellis.
Traditionally, risk modelling has looked at individual events, industries or natural disturbances that impact our marine environment. However, what happens when all these environmental stressors are considered together hasn’t been previously assessed.
“It’s important to understand how all these pressures interact together to affect our marine environment so we can better manage our activities, both on land and in the water.”
Photo by Georgina Flowers 
Photo by Laura Hinds
Sustainable Seas is one of 11 Government national science challenges designed to tackle the biggest science-based issues facing New Zealand. It has already been running for five years, collecting data and information to develop knowledge about our coastal ecosystems and produce new ecosystem-based management tools for business, Government and communities.
