New Waterways Centre for Freshwater Management Director, Professor James Brasington, says innovative thinking and alternative perspectives on how we confront the challenges facing our freshwater resources has never been needed more urgently.
The Centre is a partnership between Lincoln University and the University of Canterbury set up in 2009 to safeguard and enhance freshwater resources for future generations.
“Waterways is uniquely positioned in this regard, bringing together a transdisciplinary whānau of outstanding researchers and students from across the Universities of Canterbury and Lincoln,” Professor Brasington said.
“By working together and in concert with our key stakeholders from iwi, regional government and industry, we have the potential to ‘think radically’ and develop holistic solutions that link the social, natural and cultural dimensions of freshwater.”
Professor Brasington comes to the role from the University of Waikato, where he held the inaugural Waikato Regional Council Chair of River Science and brings a wealth of experience from previous positions at Queen Mary, University of London, and the Universities of Cambridge and Wales.
A geomorphologist, he has research interests in the dynamics of alpine and piedmont rivers, in particular understanding the form and function of braided rivers.
This work has taken him across the world, from the Himalaya, to the Pyrenees, the European Alps and the Pacific Northwest.
For the last 15 years, he has worked extensively in the South Island of New Zealand, in what he calls his “natural laboratory” typically involving large teams, working closely with engineers, ecologists, computer scientists and practitioners.
While interested in the fundamental processes that drive the behaviour of rivers, his work is increasingly focused on the development of tools and knowledge to inform strategies to manage our rivers sustainably as we confront the growing challenges of climate change and increasing demand for water.
