Associate Professor Elizabeth Macpherson, from Te Whare W膩nanga o Waitaha | 91制片厂鈥檚 Faculty of Law, has won the University鈥檚 Advancing Sustainability Research Award for her contribution to environmental and natural resources law, and her focus on addressing global environmental challenges.
She says it鈥檚 a 鈥渞eal honour鈥 to receive the award. 鈥淚 have spent more than 20 years advocating for legal and policy frameworks that better manage global environmental challenges surrounding the protection of freshwater and marine ecosystems, while upholding the rights and authority of Indigenous peoples.
鈥淭his is not just a recognition of my research but of Indigenous peoples who are leading legal innovations on issues of sustainability both internationally and locally, and who have inspired and supported me along the way.鈥
Next year, Associate Professor Macpherson will begin a five-year, $800,000 Rutherford Discovery Fellowship funded by the Royal Society Te Ap膩rangi to investigate legal frameworks supporting blue carbon futures in Aotearoa New Zealand. The research will be in partnership with Ng膩i Tahu.听
Her goal is to combine her research programme on freshwater and marine law and policy to drive global impact around the critical roles coastal wetlands and related communities can play in response to climate change.
Associate Professor Macpherson, who is Principal Investigator for the Sustainable Seas National Science Challenge, recently won the New Zealand Legal Research Foundation Sir Ian Barker Published Article Award for 2022鈥痜or her article in the Journal of the Royal Society; 鈥淐an Western water law become more 鈥榬elational鈥? A survey of comparative laws affecting water across Australasia and the Americas鈥.
She is also an assistant investigator on a successful bid for the equivalent of NZD$850,000 from the Chilean National Research Agency for a project on collaborative water governance being led out of the Pontificia Universidad Cat贸lica de Chile.听
School of Forestry Associate Professor Justin Morgenroth is another 91制片厂 (UC) staff member recognised for his efforts to promote sustainability. He has won the UC Advancing Sustainability Knowledge Award for his work over the past decade taking first-year Forestry students to the P奴harakekenui鈥疭tyx River in 艑tautahi Christchurch to undertake restoration planting, in partnership with the Christchurch City Council.
Hundreds of UC students have planted thousands of trees during that time, with early plantings now reaching over six metres tall.
The students are taught the practical aspects of planting trees to help ensure their survival and eventual contribution to a safe, sustainable, and resilient 艑tautahi.听
In a third category, UC Ng膩i Tahu Centre Senior Research Fellow Dr John Reid (Ng膩ti Pikiao, Tainui) won the Protecting Our Planet Award for his work to boost the health of UC鈥檚 waterways.听
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 - Life below water
