Communicating Ecological Science – a strategy for the New Zealand Ecological Society: 2008–2018

This draft strategy has been developed by Karen Denyer and the NZES council, with input from members via conference workshops and email correspondence invited through the NZES newsletter.

Click here to view the current draft (96KB PDF file). The NZES council is keen to get member feedback on whether this version of the strategy should be adopted in its current form or with modification.

Feedback should be sent to John Sawyer (submissions@nzes.org.nz) by the end of January 2008.

The primary objective of this strategy is to improve the communication of ecological knowledge to science users and non-scientists to increase ecological awareness among the general public and decision-makers, and, in doing so, achieve better decisions and outcomes in resource use and resource management, to reverse the decline of biodiversity in New Zealand.

It is hoped that through this the Society will:

• Make ecology approachable and interesting to the public
• Inform public opinion
• Incorporate credible science into ecological debate
• Influence decision-makers and guide policy
• Guide resource management and restoration activities

The New Zealand Ecological Society occasionally makes submissions to the New Zealand national government on draft policies and strategies related to the core ecological expertise of its members. Copies of some recent submissions made by the Society are available for downloading as pdf files (requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Department of Conservation Draft Conservation General Policy
Every 15-20 years, the NZ Department of Conservation (DOC) reviews two of its important conservation policy documents, known as statements of General Policy. These cover the Conservation Act 1987 and related legislation, and the National Parks Act 1980. Public submissions on the drafts of these General Policy statements were requested in December 2003. The full NZES submission, coordinated by the Society's Submissions Convener, Murray Williams, and submitted by Society President, Mark Saunders, can be downloaded here (pdf, 116k).

The Society's submission highlights the drafts' statements regarding research in DOC administered reserves. We suggest that DOC should encourage all ecological research in these reserves, rather than just research identified as being directly relevant to conservation management. The submission takes issue with the draft policies stated intention of seeking a high level of "control" over any research conducted on public conservation land, with that "control" extending to how the knowledge is managed (11(d)), the nature of the intellectual property acquired from that research (11(d), 11(f)(iv)) and the distribution of the knowledge (11(h). The Society argues instead that DOC should advocate for the knowledge to be placed in the public domain.

The Society's submission also makes suggestions for improving public participation in conservation management, monitoring the effects of conservation management, maintaining and developing knowledge of NZ's natural resources, and strengthening DOC's advocacy role.

NZ National Biosecurity Strategy
New Zealand is in the process of developing a national biosecurity strategy (see www.biostrategy.govt.nz/). The NZES submission on the Biosecurity Strategy Issues Paper (Download, pdf, 84k) identifies several important issues of concern to the society. The submission was coordinated by Peter Bellingham (Landcare Research), and substantial contributions were made by Peter Williams, Lynley Hayes, Mick Clout, Rod Hay and, John Parkes.