Freshwater science–policy interactions in Aotearoa-New Zealand: lessons from the past and recommendations for the future

ABSTRACT

Freshwater ecosystem health is a matter of long-standing concern in Aotearoa-New Zealand. This concern is warranted, based on evidence of a century of ecological degradation. The national government responded with a series of freshwater policies starting in the 1940s, and environmental scientists have contributed to each successive policy. However, the science–policy interface in Aotearoa-New Zealand has often functioned poorly, due to science output with low policy relevance, long lag times (policy development lagging behind science advances, and vice versa) poor communications and other problems. The consequences have included continued degradation in the absence of appropriate regulation, and limited policy implementation due to inadequate scientific knowledge. In this paper, we address the challenges of freshwater science–policy interactions in in Aotearoa-New Zealand in three steps. First, we characterise effective and ineffective freshwater science–policy interactions over their 80-year history. Second, we recommend approaches for implementing the newest policy package, the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020. Third, we set out five imperatives to improve policy development in the future: inclusiveness, partnership with Māori, strategic planning, a funding mandate, and an authorising agency.

KEYWORDS:

• Aotearoa-New Zealand
• freshwater policy
• limit-setting
• National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management
• science–policy interface

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. https://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/fresh-water/essential-freshwater-milestones-what-happens-when

2. Literally ‘the treaty’. Te Tiriti refers to the Treaty of Waitangi, the founding document of Aotearoa-NZ, signed between Maori chiefs and British government officials in 1840. Te Tiriti set out the articles on which government in Aotearoa-NZ would be based, including rights of ownership of natural resources https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/treaty/the-treaty-in-brief

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Scott T. Larned

Scott Larned is Chief Scientist - Freshwater at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, and an ecosystems ecologist. His research focuses on the effects of land and water use on biological communities, ecosystem processes and water quality, and on developing tools to predict and mitigate those effects. This research has contributed to the management of rivers, estuaries, coral reefs, lakes and aquifers.

Clive Howard-Williams

Clive Howard-Williams is Emeritus Scientist at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand. Clive is an aquatic ecologist with long experience in both fundamental research and freshwater management. He has worked from the tropics to the polar regions on lakes, rivers, estuaries and wetlands. Current interests are in environmental assessments and mitigation of activities that result in pollution of fresh water ecosystems.

Ken Taylor

Ken Taylor is the former director of the Our Land and Water National Science Challenge. Prior to that he was director of science at Environment Canterbury. He was a member of the Land and Water Forum from 2009 to 2018, and has chaired a number of advisory groups established by the government to provide guidance on the evidence base for freshwater policy. He has a long-standing interest in the role of science in supporting policy development in general, and more particularly, in the design and delivery of science to respond more effectively to the ways communities of interest identify, process, and contextualise information needs.

Mike Scarsbrook

Mike Scarsbrook is Science Manager at Waikato Regional Council. His main interest is in the management of land-water interactions, specifically effects of agriculture on freshwater ecosystems. Over the course of his career, he has worked in research, development and policy roles, including involvement in several advisory groups assisting government with national freshwater policy.