2015 State of the Nation's Environment Address - Alan Mark

The 2015 Lincoln University State of the Nation's Environment Address by Sir Alan F. Mark FRSNZ, KNZM Department of Botany, University of Otago.

Some recent achievements with sustainable lake management and improved high country management through the application of research findings will be discussed, together with the establishment of protected areas of South Island high country for baseline research, multiple ecosystem services and heritage values, while attempting to arrest a sliding conifer threat.  These achievements show how research and multiparty collaboration can address environmental challenges at smaller scales.  However at a global scale, social and environmental welfare, and the environment that supports these, are being seriously threatened by the current political system that is demanding growth and economic development that exceeds the earth's physical limits and sustainable resource use.  This is causing unprecedented risks to present and particularly future human welfare, and their support systems, of which global warming is the major threat that demands urgent attention, nationally and internationally.  What can we learn from smaller-scale successes that can help us address these global challenges in our own back yard?