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    Misfits of science and creatures of habitus : ecological expert witnesses across water resource management fields : a thesis submitted to Massey University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
    (Massey University, 2024-11-01) Russell, Matthew
    This thesis applies Bourdieusian field-theory to investigate the way scientific knowledge is converted into evidence to inform decision making across four key fields central to the development and enforcement of water resource management law in New Zealand: the New Zealand Environment Court, the Environmental Protection Authority, regional councils plan hearings, and ministerially appointed science and technology advisory groups. The New Zealand publicly funded science system now exhibits most of the characteristics of a “neoliberal science regime” (Lave, 2012), a regime constituted by an extensive and influential science "consultocracy" (Hodge and Bowman, 2006) a marketplace of expertise which encompasses the seven Crown Research Institutes, hybrid scientific research institutes and significant aspects of the university sector. This regime has structurally entrenched a series of contradictions across New Zealand’s publicly funded science system which have a decisive influence on 1.) scientific habitus across institutional settings, 2.) the production of ‘public good' environmental expert knowledge claims, and 3.) the way that ecological expertise is converted into evidence to inform decisions on RMA law and policy. While the autonomy of New Zealand’s publicly funded science system has been greatly diminished, the New Zealand Environment Court has developed a set of procedures and rules that are designed to reconstruct the idealised or ‘pure’ autonomous scientific community inside the juridical field. Some of these procedures and rules, most significantly those that relate to the still developing practice of expert-conferencing, have been replicated within regional authority plan hearings and science and technology advisory groups. These procedures function relatively effectively inside the Environment Court. Within quasi-juridical fields like the EPA, councils and STAGs however, politics and power have a significant influence in the process of converting scientific knowledge into evidence to inform actions and judgements, as well as the evidentiary burden that is placed on ecological and biophysical evidence versus other forms of expertise. The neoliberal regime favours agents with the greatest economic capital to engage experts, primarily industry and local and regional authorities. Aside from a small number of highly active ‘misfit' individuals, university-based experts are not major players in the Environment Court, which points towards the powerful authority assigned to expert-knowledge claims produced outside academia. Within this context, mātauranga Māori increasingly represents a corrective to the technocratic, ecological modernisation project embodied in the New Zealand RMA. Ecological misfits see mātauranga Māori as the most powerful articulation of 'public good' environmental values in Aotearoa today. However, the most vocal champions of mātauranga Māori tend to argue around the contradictions produced by the neoliberal science regime, rather than challenging them directly, arguably blunting its transformative potential.
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    Applying a landscape ecological approach and geodesign from a farmer-centric position to inform the creation of future multifunctional, sustainable agricultural landscapes : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Natural Resources Management at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2023) Tran, Duy Xuan
    In the wake of environmental challenges, it is important to improve the environmental sustainability of farm systems and landscapes whilst ensuring profitability for the farmers that manage them. This PhD study draws on theories from landscape ecology and geodesign to plan and design multifunctional agricultural landscapes from a farmer-centric position with sustainability in mind. A hill country and steep-land farm in New Zealand is used as a case study. A conceptual framework is proposed to guide landscape planning. The framework applies an ecosystem-based management approach (i.e., ecosystem services approach) coupled with geodesign at the farm scale. A comprehensive spatially explicit assessment of landscape multifunctionality and associated ecosystem services at the farm scale is carried out to understand the spatial variation of ecosystem services provision and how land use and land management goals of the landowners reflect the value and quality of landscape multifunctionality. Afterwards, spatially detailed variations in the relationship between landscape structure and the provision of ecosystem services is quantified to understand how landscape structure can affect the provision of ecosystem services in the farmed landscape. Finally, collaboration with the case farmers and application of different tools and models are carried out to generate future land use and management scenarios for the case study farm, visualise changes, and assess the impacts of future land use on landscape multifunctionality and the provision of associated ecosystem services and economic outcomes. This helps to demonstrate how the proposed approach can be applied to plan and design multifunctional agricultural landscapes that offer improved sustainability in the NZ hill country farmed landscapes. The results from the case study suggest that the proposed approach provides an effective solution for sustainable farm system design and that it can make an important contribution to advancing environmental management in New Zealand, as well as in other countries which face similar issues.
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    Ecosanctuaries, grassroots community development and partnerships with tāngata whenua : a postdevelopment perspective : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of International Development at Massey University, Palmerston North, Aotearoa New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2022) Burnett, Scott
    Aotearoa New Zealand is in the midst of a human-induced biodiversity crisis, with three-quarters of birds, reptiles and frogs at risk of extinction. Last year a redeveloped National Biodiversity Strategy called Te Mana o te Taiao was released. The strategy argues that we need to change people's relationship with the natural world in order to address biodiversity loss. In this thesis, I explore the socio-cultural aspects of three community-led ecosanctuary projects to examine this problem and illuminate a pathway toward a more sustainable relationship between people and the natural world. I use a hopeful postdevelopment lens, which seeks to imagine and practise development differently through research couched in hope and possibility. It builds upon postdevelopment's insight that over-reliance upon universally applied, science-based, market-driven technological solutions often delivers unintended negative outcomes and devalues alternative perspectives. A qualitative approach was employed for this research, using semi-structured interviews with key informants, an analysis of documents published by these organisations, and a synthesis of the published literature. The research illustrates how dominant Western paradigms, which see humans as separate from the natural world, have contributed to the biodiversity crisis. It then reveals that awareness of the state of the environment does not necessarily result in behaviour change, and I argue that the adoption of indigenous approaches may help turn knowledge into action for the environment. I found ecosanctuaries are well-placed to enact this paradigm change in human-nature relationships and are already doing so as a side-effect of their activities rather than with a planned focus. The research further examined the influence of ecosanctuaries upon their communities, how ecosanctuaries worked with indigenous peoples, and how they incorporated indigenous knowledge. These findings can be used by community conservation initiatives to articulate the benefits such projects deliver to their communities and suggest how stronger relationships with tāngata whenua can be developed and why this is valuable.
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    The effects of seeding density on production traits and stress biomarkers of the Greenshell™ mussel, Perna canaliculus : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Conservation Biology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2021) Reyden, Carrie
    The Greenshell™ mussel, Perna canaliculus, is New Zealand’s most important aquaculture species and holds great economic significance. Losses of juvenile mussels (spat) are common and can severely reduce the potential yield of P. canaliculus, however the exact drivers of these losses are unknown. Environmental variation inevitably contributes to mussel performance, however, environmental factors are difficult to control in a water-based aquaculture system, such as P. canaliculus farms. Therefore, it is important to understand how controllable factors, such as commercial procedures, impact mussel performance so modifications can be implemented. In this study, I assessed the impacts of seeding density (257, 515, and 1030 mussels 10cm⁻¹ of culture rope) on P. canaliculus performance on commercial mussel farms in the Marlborough Sounds. In a spatially replicated field experiment during the austral summer in the initial stages of culture when spat loss is common, I explored the effects of seeding density on production traits: P. canaliculus abundance and size, as well as accumulation of biofouling on culture ropes and stress biomarkers in P. canaliculus by assessing a stress effect: total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and stress responses: oxidative stress, and viability (valve closure during freshwater immersion). At the end of my experiment, P. canaliculus abundance remained greatest at the highest seeding density, however losses were also greatest at the highest seeding density, and P. canaliculus growth was greater at shallow depths. The abundance of a problematic biofouling species, Mytilus galloprovincialis, was greatest at low seeding densities and shallow depths, and varied between sites. Mytilus galloprovincialis were also larger at shallow depths. Shallower depths and Site 2 attracted a greater biomass of non-mussel biofouling. Although, TAC in P. canaliculus varied among seeding density treatments, the impacts of seeding density were inconsistent among depths, sites, and time. Nonetheless, while mussel viability remained high in all treatments oxidative stress appeared greater near the end of summer. Ameliorating challenging conditions increases the capacity of mussels to respond to additional stressors, including uncontrollable environmental factors and future climate change. However, my results indicate seeding density influences whole-organism and stress biomarkers differently and underlies trade-offs between favourable mussel production traits for farmers to consider.
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    Factoring community welfare estimates into freshwater allocation decision making in New Zealand : a common good case study : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Natural Resource Management at Massey University, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2020) Walker, Humphrey
    The study recognises the centrality of the ‘common good’ by working to improve the intergenerational well-being of all people in society. The research adopts the Tukituki River catchment in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand as a case study to demonstrate how community welfare estimates can be factored into freshwater allocation planning and decision-making. The Tukituki catchment faces water pollution and allocation challenges that are typical of agricultural landscapes with summer water scarcity. A survey measured both current and future perceptions of the catchment, focussing on comparing perceptions of anglers and gamebird hunters with other recreational users. A second survey estimated the marginal welfare benefits generated by improved water quality and the welfare associated with trust in freshwater advocates and policy-oriented organisations. Most users felt the catchment was in a poor state and wanted a future with improved water quality. There was little or no difference between the perceptions of anglers and other recreational users. Gamebird hunter’s perceptions were different from other recreational users at the p<.05 level. Recreational users were willing to pay a mean $6.67 a month for ten years to improve water quality to a level representative of the successful delivery of current policy goals by 2030. Bayesian trust scores were used to model social capital in the form of a novel social trust economy, which proved to be an effective descriptor of the known political economy. Keywords: Freshwater, Welfare, Perceptions, Trust, Common good, Latent Class Analysis, Best-worst scaling, Non-market valuation, Contingent valuation.