Water & Society

Many of the key drivers of change in our water environment are anthropogenic and the impacts of our interventions play out in complex ways across social-ecological systems.

Our research brings a critical lens to the economic, cultural and political dimensions of water science and management. This interdisciplinary focus is crucial to address key contemporary freshwater challenges across a range of settings and scales.

Current Research Projects

Featured

Hindcasting a groundwater system to pre-European conditions using mātauranga Māori

Future Coasts: Assessing groundwater hazards associated with relative sea-level rise

Collective approaches to ecosystem regeneration: Ōpāwaho Heathcote River Network

Fish Futures: Social-ecological feedbacks in freshwater fish management

Recent Publications

Rennie, H. G. (2023, December) Developing regulations to aid recovery from severe weather events The Journal (NZ Institute of Primary Industry Management) 27(4): 29-33.

Challies, E. and Tadaki, M., 2022. New horizons in the politics of water governance. New Zealand Geographer, 78(1), pp.3-8.

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.

Westerhoff, R., McDowell, R., Brasington, J., et al., 2022. Towards implementation of robust monitoring technologies alongside freshwater improvement policy in Aotearoa New Zealand. Environmental Science & Policy, 132, pp.1-12.

Batalla, R.J., Gibbins, C.N., Alcázar, J., Brasington, J., Buendia, C., Garcia, C., Llena, M., López, R., Palau, A., Rennie, C. and Wheaton, J.M., 2021. Hydropeaked rivers need attention. Environmental Research Letters, 16(2), p.021001.