Marsden researcher co-edits special issue of New Zealand Geographer

The New Zealand Geographer has released a special issue titled New Horizons in the Politics of Water Governance edited by Dr Ed Challies (Waterways Centre for Freshwater Management - University of Canterbury) and Dr Marc Tadaki (Waterways Centre for Freshwater Management - University of Canterbury, Coastal and Freshwater Group - Cawthron Institute).

Dr Marc Tadaki co-edited the issue as part of his Marsden Fast Start research grant, “Channels of influence: how does river science structure political options and material realities?” (2020-2023).  

The special issue showcases excellent social science from early-career researchers, women, and Māori academics exploring freshwater values, governance, and politics in Aotearoa, including two insightful Māori commentaries addressing the politics of Te Mana o Te Wai.

The Issue covers a range of topics: understanding how/why we devalue lakes and urban streams and how we can reverse this, opportunities and tensions with cultural monitoring of freshwater, experimental collaborative decision making in the Waikato, catchment group motivations and dynamics in Southland, explaining the evolution of the Waimea dam debate through the lens of narrative, interrogating the potential for Te Mana o Te Wai to be an empowering concept for Māori, grasping the key role played by environmental NGOs in water governance, and the global significance of New Zealand experiences and research on water governance.