About

We’re thrilled to announce the launch of the brand new Bioeconomy Series, held as part of Return to Campus Week at Lincoln University. This week celebrates new beginnings and collaboration across our campus, with poster displays, research showcases and events designed to reconnect students, staff, and partners while sparking fresh conversations for the year ahead.

Our first event explores the future of land use under a changing climate. As temperatures rise and weather patterns shift, New Zealand’s landscapes — and the decisions we make about how we use them — are set to undergo profound transformation. But what might those changes look like? Which regions are most vulnerable or most adaptable? And how can research help guide sustainable land-use choices for the decades ahead?

Dr Anita Wreford, Lincoln University, will share insights from her MPI-funded project spanning Lincoln University, Bioeconomy Science Institute Maiangi Taiao partners in former AgResearch and Plant and Food Research and colleagues in the Commerce Faculty. Her work examines how climate change will reshape land-use options across Aotearoa and what this means for environmental, economic and community outcomes. Dr. Alec Mackay from the Bioeconomy Science Institute will offer a complementary perspective, exploring how current research and modelling can support decision-making and spark new approaches to future land-use planning.

Together, they’ll unpack the challenges, opportunities and emerging scenarios that could redefine New Zealand’s rural landscapes.

Join us to explore how research is helping us understand the future of land use — and what it could mean for resilience, adaptation and long-term sustainability in Aotearoa.

Timings

About Our Speakers

Prof. Anita Wreford, Lincoln University

I am an applied economist specialising in adaptation to climate change, with a particular focus on agriculture and the primary sector. I have 19 years of research experience, across many areas of climate change adaptation, including economic evaluations of impacts and adaptation (focusing particularly on applying robust methods to deal with climate uncertainty); identifying and evaluating the effectiveness of adaptation options across sectors; risk assessment; community resilience to extreme weather events; and adaptation decision-making among various stakeholders. Currently based in the AERU at Lincoln University, I lead the Deep South National Science Challenge’s programme on Impacts and Implications. I am a lead author on two Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports: A Special Report on Climate Change and Land (2019) and the forthcoming Australasia Chapter of the Sixth Assessment Report (2021). I work closely with policy makers both at a national level and local government (in the UK and New Zealand), providing advice and analysis for climate adaptation decisions and conducted work for the EU Commission and the OECD, the Scottish Government’s ClimateXChange programme, and the UK’s Committee on Climate Change.

Dr Alec Mackay, Bioeconomy Science Institute Maiangi Taiao

Alec Mackay is a principal Scientist, from Bioeconomy Science Institute, based on the Grasslands campus in Palmerston North. He has a B Agric Sci and PhD in Soil Science from Massey University and is a Fellow, Life Member and Past President of the New Zealand Society of Soil Science. He is a recipient of the NZARM Outstanding Contribution Award for contribution to resource management and the Ray Brougham Trophy for his outstanding national contributions to pastoral farming. His research includes exploring the long-term influence of agricultural practices and climate on nutrient cycling, soil organic matter, soil physical properties and the biology and production of legume-based pasture systems. Quantifying and valuing the ecosystem services from pastoral systems and the use of a natural capital-ecosystem service approach in resource management are other interests, as is ongoing refinement to land evaluation and farm planning tools.