Ed Challies

PhD Victoria University of Wellington
MA Victoria University of Wellington

I am a human geographer and inter-disciplinary social scientist with research interests in environmental policy and governance. My work on participatory and collaborative governance and collective action, has focused on the links between collaboration, environmental effectiveness, and political legitimacy. I am also interested in social-ecological systems perspectives on human-environment relations, and my research in this field explores a range of issues, from governance of global material flows to management of local ecosystems and resources. My work thus spans a range of contexts, scales and governing actors, from local neighbourhood- and catchment-based groups, to local, national and supra-national authorities and policies, multi-stakeholder governance arrangements, and international agreements. My research integrates theoretical and practice-oriented themes, and aims to inform transitions towards more effective and just modes of collective decision-making for environmental management and sustainability.

Recent Publications

Rouillard, J.; C. Babbitt; E. Challies; J-D. Rinaudo (Eds). 2022. Water Resources Allocation and Agriculture. London: IWA Publishing.

Cotta, B.; J. Coenen; E. Challies; J. Newig; A. Lenschow; A. Schilling-Vacaflor. 2022. Environmental governance in globally telecoupled systems: Mapping the terrain towards an integrated research agenda. Earth System Governance, 13(4), 100142.

Challies, E.; M. Tadaki. 2022. New horizons in the politics of water governance. New Zealand Geographer, 78, 3-8.

Sinner, J.; M. Tadaki; E. Challies; M. Kilvington; P. Tane; C.A. Robb. 2022. Crafting Collective Management Institutions in Messy Real-World Settings: A Call for Action Research. International Journal of the Commons, 16(1), 1-13.

Challies, E.; J. Newig. 2022. Water, rivers and wetlands: Governance paradigms and principles. In P.G. Harris (Ed.), Routledge Handbook of Global Environmental Politics (2 Ed.) (pp. 512-525). Oxon: Routledge.

External Links

Google scholar profile
ResearchGate
University of Canterbury, School of Earth and Environment Faculty webpage

My current research projects include:

Catchment groups and collective responsibility for freshwater (Our Land and Water National Science Challenge, New models of collective responsibility for land and water / Te Whakakotahitanga mō te taiao 2020-2024)

Urban river-care groups and collective approaches to ecological regeneration (Biological Heritage National Science Challenge, 2022-2024).

Social-ecological feedbacks in freshwater fish management (Fish Futures: Preparing for Novel Ecosystems, MBIE NZ Endeavour Research Programme, 2021-2026).

Urban stream-care groups and citizen science (NZ Freshwater Improvement Fund, in partnership with Christchurch City Council, 2021-2023).

Social and ecological co-benefits of blue-green infrastructure and nature-based solutions for urban stormwater (Resilience to Nature’s Challenges National Science Challenge, 2020-2022).

Publication Record

Google Scholar Profile
UC Research Profile

I have over a decade of tertiary teaching experience at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in New Zealand and overseas. At the Waterways Centre I currently coordinate and/or contribute to the following courses:

WATR301 Water Resource Management
WATR411 Water Governance
WATR412 Hydrological Extremes
WATR691 Water Science and Management Project

I also contribute into programmes in Geography and Social and Environmental Sustainability.

I am building a cross-disciplinary team of collaborators and postgraduate research students working in the field of water governance and management.

Graduate Students

Rachel Teen: Water-sensitive cities transitions
Tyler McNabb: Urban blue-green infrastructures
Unnathi Samaraweera: Flood-resilient communities in Sri Lanka
Claire Thompson: Indigenous water rights and ownership in Aotearoa
Heather Paterson-Shallard: Institutional Arrangements to Improve Catchment Management
Vacant: Social-ecological feedbacks in freshwater fish management