New relationship a boost to biodiversity and biosecurity research
Science Centres: Aquatic Biodiversity and Biosecurity
Dr Seddon Bennington (Chief Executive, Te Papa) and Dr Rick Pridmore (Chief Executive, NIWA) sign the new agreement which will provide stronger research and public education links between the two organisations.
RV Tangaroa
On 22 May two of New Zealand’s strongest aquatic biodiversity research providers – Te Papa and NIWA – established an important working relationship. This is a significant development, especially given the growing need for more integrative research and public education on a range of environmental issues. Te Papa and NIWA have many common business objectives and concerns, and I am confident this new working relationship will enable us to achieve more than we could alone.
We will work more closely with NIWA to increase public awareness and appreciation of the natural environment and its protection, restoration, and management. The focus will be on issues of aquatic biodiversity and biosecurity, sustainability, climate change, and natural hazards.
We look forward to joint initiatives, including science education and training programmes, with NIWA’s National Centre for Aquatic Biodiversity & Biosecurity and NIWA’s other National Centres.
We will together address the shrinking pool of expertise and funding for aquatic biosystematics and taxonomy, which is a concern to both Te Papa and NIWA. Expertise in these areas is vital for the assessment and management of New Zealand’s aquatic biosecurity. The future of biological collections is also an issue of national concern. Together we hope to improve the management and accessibility of aquatic biological collections and their supporting data.
Our new relationship has already been marked by a number of joint projects, including research on marine algae systematics, and several other aquatic biodiversity research proposals. Te Papa and NIWA successfully planned and developed the large-scale deep ocean biodiversity research survey (NORFANZ) currently underway along the Norfolk Ridge and Lord Howe Rise, north of New Zealand. NIWA’s research vessel Tangaroa is providing a platform for this joint research project between New Zealand and Australia. The Ministry of Fisheries, the Australian National Oceans Office, CSIRO, NIWA, and Te Papa are all supporting this research. (See the daily voyage diary on the Australian National Oceans Office website.)