ECO - Environment and Conservation Organisations of Aotearoa New Zealand

  ECO Conference Co-ordinator
  Email:conference registration
  Kate Lower - 021 137 5667
  Media - 021 891 994
ECO, PO Box 11-057, Wellington

Vanessa Atkinson

Climate Campaigner, Greenpeace. Vanessa is an environmental activist of about 10 years and become involved in the green movement in Australia with a national environmental group called the Wilderness Society. Initially working on a campaign to stop a destructive coastal development near Hinchinbrook Island in a World Heritage Listed Area, she later worked on a campaign to stop native forest destruction. In 1999 she worked as the Great Barrier Reef campaigner to protect this fragile marine environment from the devastating impacts of prawn trawling.

After finishing (finally!) her degree and honours thesis in environmental science with a marine biology major, she joined Greenpeace in 2000. Based in the Sydney office, Vanessa worked on the ocean’s campaign against over fishing of the critically endangered Southern Bluefin Tuna and on the anti-whaling campaign. After also working in Australia and New Zealand on the GE campaign and toxics issues she moved to New Zealand in 2003 to take up the Climate Campaigner position with Greenpeace in Auckland .

Since then she has worked to raise awareness of climate change, its impacts and the urgent need to tackle the world’s greatest threat. Her work has focused on pushing against increased coal-fired power generation while promoting wind energy and other renewable energy sources, energy efficiency and the need for a long-term sustainable energy strategy. Her time in New Zealand has also seen her continued involvement with the oceans campaign, this time for a moratorium on high seas bottom trawling. Vanessa worked on a month-long Greenpeace expedition to the North East Atlantic in 2004 to highlight and confront this destructive fishing practice.

For the past decade Stephen Blyth has worked to support community and voluntary organisations to participate in civil society. In his current role Stephen is leading a project for the Ministry of Social Development developing practical information and resources for NGOs. In previous roles at the Department of Internal Affairs he promoted community group uptake of IT, and administered funding schemes. Stephen is past ECO chairperson, and was its Executive Officer from 1993-1996. Currently he is a Trustee for the 2020 Communications Trust, and on the core group of Heartbeat Wellington, a citizens group promoting an ecologically sustainable and people focused city.

Dr Martin Cryer

Martin Cryer is NIWA’s Science Leader for Shellfisheries and the Effects of Fishing. He currently specialises in shellfish stock assessments and supporting research (especially cockles, scallops, and scampi) and on understanding the effects of fishing. He has a B. Tech. (hons) in Applied Ecology and a Ph.D in Aquatic Ecology and has been involved in various aspects of fisheries ecology in the UK and New Zealand since 1977.

Penelope Figgis, AM

Penelope Figgis is a senior member of the Australian environmental movement, a writer and analyst on protected areas and sustainability in tourism. In 2005 she is a Visiting Fellow in the Graduate School of the Environment at Macquarie University and holds the positions of Vice Chair for Australia and New Zealand of the World Commission on Protected Areas; Board Member of Sydney Olympic Park; Chair of the Parklands Advisory Committee and Member of the Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife Advisory Council.

For over twenty five years she has held many offices in environment organisations, including nearly 20 years as Vice President of Australia’s leading NGO, the Australian Conservation Foundation. She has also served on the boards of many statutory authorities including the Australian Tourist Commission, the Environment Protection Authority of NSW, Landcare Australia and the Commission for the Future. In 2003 she stepped down from nine years as a Director of the Australian Bush Heritage Fund, Australia ’s major private land conservation organisation, and concluded three years as Board Member of the Jenolan Caves Trust.

Ms Figgis is a recognised authority on tourism and the environment. She served on the boards of two World Heritage Areas and tourism icons, Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park Board (1985-91) and the Great Barrier Reef Consultative Committee (1996-1998). She has written and given papers extensively on ecotourism and has been a major advocate of environmental responsibility in all tourism. In 1993/4 she gave papers at international conferences in Italy , Brazil and Venezuela . Over five years she assessed the environmental performance of international tourist operations as an Asian/Pacific judge of the prestigious British Airways 'Tourism for Tomorrow' Awards. In recent years she has been a consultant on the environmental positioning and standards of tourism facilities. Most recently she was an expert adviser to the Tourism and Transport Forum Australia (TTF) in the development of their 2004 report Making National Parks a National Tourism Priority.

Ms Figgis has written widely about protected areas, nature tourism and World Heritage. Her major publications include Rainforests of Australia (ed.) 1985 and Australia 's Wilderness Heritage: World Heritage Areas (co-author with J.G. Mosley)1988. In 1999 she published a major overview of directions in protected area policy, Australia ’s National Parks and Protected Areas: Future Directions, (ACIUCN) and in 2004 Conservation on Private Lands: the Australian Experience (IUCN).

On Australia Day 1994 she was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her services to conservation and the environment and in 2003 was awarded the Centenary Medal for outstanding services to the environment.

Dr John Glaister is the Chief Executive of Ministry of Fisheries, New Zealand . He was formerly Deputy Director-General Innovation in the Department of State Development and Innovation in Queensland , Australia , responsible for the administration of science, research and innovation, commercialisation and IT in Queensland and the “ Smart State ” Strategy.

Prior to this role, Dr Glaister held various scientific and management positions in fisheries research and resource management in New South Wales , the Northern Territory and Queensland , Australia .

From 1995-1999 he was the Chief Executive Officer and Director of New South Wales Fisheries.

His international experience includes a Fulbright Postdoctoral fellowship in fisheries at the University of Miami in 1986, co-chair of the Third World Fisheries Congress, Beijing (2000), Chair, World Aquaculture Conference, Sydney (1999) and Chair, the Second World Fisheries Congress, Brisbane (1996).

Dr Glaister has an MSc (Marine Zoology), PhD (Biological Sciences), MBA and PhD (Sociology).

Carmen Gravatt is the oceans campaigner at Greenpeace Aotearoa/New Zealand. Carmen has worked at Greenpeace for ten years, beginning as a volunteer and later a logistics and non-violent direct actions coordinator. In 2002 Carmen began working on Greenpeace’s campaign against toxic chemicals in New Zealand and, for the past two years she has campaigned to protect our oceans. Carmen is at the conference fresh off the Rainbow Warrior, which has been out in the international waters of the Tasman Sea. The ship has been drawing attention to the issue of bottom trawling while the United Nations has been meeting in New York to discuss the management of the world’s oceans.

Janet Grieve

Janet Grieve is recently retired from the Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) and remains at the Wellington campus in an emeritus position. She is a specialist on the biodiversity of planktonic copepod crustaceans and the interaction of physical and biological processes in marine environments, with interests in an ecosystems-based approach to the management of the marine environment. She obtained her PhD at the University of Canterbury and was on the staff of NIWA and its antecedents from 1966-2004, with a 3-year break when she was a visitor at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington , D.C. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand.

Kevin is the Conservation Manager for Forest and Bird. He has been an active campaigner for conservation and other issues for over 30 years. He manages the national campaign team at Forest and Bird. Kevin’s background includes working as a government ecologist, being on the Board of Greenpeace New Zealand for 6 years, 19 years on the Tongariro Taupo Conservation Board, fighting all four of the West Coast beech scheme proposals, and managing the 1993 Electoral Reform Coalition’s campaign for the referendum which brought in MMP.

Roy Hemmingway is Chair of the Electricity Commission, which performs a variety of regulatory functions in New Zealand ’s electricity system, as well as ensuring security of supply and promoting electricity efficiency. Mr Hemmingway has been in the post since the Commission’s inception in September 2003.

Mr Hemmingway’s most recent previous position was as Chair of the Public Utility Commission of Oregon, in the United States . During his career he has worked in both government and industry in matters relating to electricity. He has been an advisor to three Oregon governors and was one of the founding members of the Northwest Power Planning Council, a four-state electricity planning body.

Dr Hutchings is from Ngai Tahu, Ngati Huirapa and Gujurat , India . She is the current Resident Scholar at at Te Mata o Te Tau, Massey University and is currently researching in the area of Maori and new technologies. Jessica has been lecturing at Victoria University within the Masters of Environmental Studies program for the last seven years, particularly in the area of Maori resource management and also teaches in Maori science and the Development Studies Program in gender and development. Jessica has worked across the private, public and NGO sectors with regard to Maori responsiveness and environmental values and currently sits on the Greenpeace and the Sustainable Business Network Boards. She is a strong advocate for Maori self-determination and iwi, hapu and whanau development.

Geoff is Forest and Bird's communications and biosecurity awareness officer. He has a strong interest in how environmental issues are portrayed and understood in the media and by decision makers. He also previously worked as a media worker for Christchurch Central MP Tim Barnett.

Michael Lawley

Mechanical engineer Michael Lawley, his wife Linda run their export business EcoInnovation from their four-hectare property 18km inland from New Plymouth, employing one full-time and one part-time worker. They modify smart drive washing machine motors so that instead of converting electricity to mechanical energy for a washing machine agitator, they convert the energy of wind or flowing water to electricity. The resulting generators are installed in off the- grid applications in rural New Zealand and Australia and exported as far afield as India , Iceland and the United States .

He has an honors degree in mechanical engineering from Bradford University in the UK . He and Linda moved to New Zealand from England during the Gulf War in the early 1990s, determined to strive for self-sufficiency in energy.

At first Michael tutored at Taranaki Polytechnic. His students built the Eco Inn’s three-metre diameter wooden waterwheel – which contains a Smart Drive and is mounted on a Holden rear axle – as engineering coursework. He quit paid work to build the property’s houses and for the last three years has concentrated on running the business.

The property has run on renewable energy for past 10 years. The Lawleys began with a single wind turbine and now have 1.2kW of photovoltaics, which they plan to increase to 2 kW; wind power averaging 250W, with a maximum output of 2000W; and water output averaging 150-200W and supplying 3.6-4.8 kWh a day.

Maiki is coordinator, Environmental Education of the Auckland College of Education and was, like others, so busy we couldn’t pin her down for a bio, so this is the unauthorised version, like several others. We know that she is an environmental education advisor whose beat covers the whole area in the North of the North Island . She encouraged Northern Schools to join the EnvironSchools programme. She was prior to that a curriculum advisor on the Maori curriculum to Northland schools. She is fluent in both Maori and English, is a member of the ECO Executive and the Bay of Islands Coastal Watchdog . She is Secretary, Policy and Planning for the Kororareke Marae Society Inc and a Maori Literacy Facilitator for TEAM Solutions, Tai Tokerau. She does lots more.

Debs Martin

Debs works as a Conservation Officer for Forest and Bird in the Top of the South Island . Her focus recently has been on freshwater and marine issues - including the Ross Sea . Other recent work includes environmental strategic advice to Jeanette Fitzsimons, Green MP; tertiary education on environmental issues and co-ordination of several river campaigns throughout Canterbury . With a Masters degree in Geography from the University of Canterbury , Debs' thesis researched New Zealand 's involvement in the Ross Sea region of Antarctica . Spanning historical, scientific and commercial interests, her main concerns for the Ross Sea region arise from the increasing pressures of commercial activity in the region, including fishing.

Molly is an independent energy analyst who has worked with environmental organisations since the early 1970s. In 1976-78 she took the case against nuclear power to a Royal Commission, on behalf of the Campaign for Non-Nuclear Futures, a subsidiary of the Save Manapouri Campaign. From 1978-1988 she published "Energywatch" in association with ECO, which covered a diverse range of economic and environmental analyses and opinion, mainly on the "Think Big" projects. She is a founding member of the Sustainable Energy Forum, and is again focussing on electricity issues because of the critical decisions about to be made which could retard the progress of sustainable energy services for many years. Her other interests include sailing (with a Cook-Strait-capable yacht), gardening, baroque music, and family.

Managed Thames Energy Futures Trust doing house energy retro-fits under EECA and Housing NZ contracts. Involved in Coromandel anti-mining issues since 1980 and again now. A Director of FoE, Friends of the Earth, NZ. 1985-93.
Involved with ECO, Environment & Conservation Organisations of NZ from1980s. Including on Executive Committee from 1998 - present. Since 2002 has represented ECO on Mangrove Steering Group.
Also represents ECO on various fisheries management issues; currently MFish -various stock assessment working and research groups; North Island Hectors dolphin working group & technical working group; aquaculture issues.
On Thames Coast Protection Society (Exec Member) and involved with Clean Water Whangamata.

Steve is a Senior Research Fellow in the Auckland University of Technology, AUT, Earth & Oceanic Sciences Research Institute, and Discovery Channel Quest Scholar. As a marine biologist, he is a recognised authority in the taxonomy and systematics of cephalopods (octopus anSteve is a Senior Research Fellow in the Auckland University of Technology, AUT,Earth & Oceanic Sciences Research Institute, and Discovery Channel Quest Scholar. As a marine biologist, he is a recognised authority in the taxonomy and systematics of cephalopods (octopus and squid), but also has considerable experience in aspects of environmental impact assessment, conservation, fisheries surveys, biodiversity studies, documentaries, marine invertebrate fixation and preservation techniques, and museum curation. The majority of his published work has been the alpha taxonomy of cephalopods, including a monographic revision of the New Zealand octopus fauna. Steve continues to research New Zealand cephalopod systematics and culture techniques, and is presently undertaking a monographic review of the New Zealand squid fauna (approximately 90 species). He is also intensively involved in documentaries that involve cephalopods, deep-sea invertebrates, and marine conservation.

Wendy is Executive Director, Sustainable Development New Zealand (SANZ) and Director of Intrinsics Limited which fosters new ways of working at the systems level and provides strategic brokerage and relationship management services to support multi-agency projects. In addition to her role with SANZ, Wendy is currently working on the Auckland Sustainable Cities Programme.

Her background includes extensive experience of social policy development & programme implementation working between Central Government and for profit and not for profit service providers. Wendy has worked in senior roles in the Housing, Welfare and Health sectors and has particular expertise in strategic planning, sector-wide change management, community development and funding and contracting processes.

The Save Happy Valley Campaign aims to build awareness about the proposed coal mine at Happy Valley and the environmental issues surrounding coal mining, and to actively oppose the mine and coal-fuelled energy generation. Originally formed in April last year, the group has since then used a variety of tactics including civil disobedience and symbolic actions to successfully gain media attention and aid in the building of public awareness about the mine.
The group is opposed to the mine for a variety of reasons, including climate change, acid mine drainage, the pollution of rivers and waterways, habitat destruction and the loss of biodiversity.

The Royal Society’s 2004 Charles Fleming Award for environmental achievement was awarded to Dr Steve Dawson, and Dr Liz Slooten, University of Otago, for their very significant contributions to the conservation of marine mammals in New Zealand, most notably but not exclusively the endemic Hectors and Maui dolphins.

Cath is a senior lecturer in the School of Government at Victoria University of Wellington and specialises in economics and public policy especially in the environmental and natural resources fields. She is a member of the Australia New Zealand Society for Ecological Economics, has chaired ECO for too long and is a seasoned environmental campaigner.

Barry is a senior researcher at Forest and Bird with responsibility amongst other things, for marine and fisheries work plus resource management. He is a seasoned analyst, researcher and campaigner. He recently, with Michael Szabo, produced the Good Fish Guide and consumer reference card.

Dr Morgan Williams is in his eighth year as the commissioner. A Cantabrian – he grew up milking cows, building things and mucking about in rivers fishing and boating. He has degrees in biology and ecology, drawing on research in Antartica and the tropical Pacific. He has extensive experience in agricultural, environmental, pest and ecological research and policy, particularly as they relate to the sustainability of land use and information exchange in rural and agribusiness communities. He has published widely on ecological and pest management matters, contributed to several books, represented New Zealand on three Australian inter-governmental committees and undertaken many consultancies in the Pacific Islands and Australia . Most of this experience was gained during 20 years with MAF and a short period in Agriculture New Zealand – part of the Wrightson Group.

As Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Dr Williams and his team have wide powers, independent of government, to ensure that environmental management systems and processes contribute to the maintenance of or improvement in New Zealand ’s environmental qualities. Dr Williams has increasingly focused the office’s work on sustainability concepts at a systems level; be the system a city, our oceans, energy provision, planning legislation, dialogue in society or education and learning for sustainability. The aim has been to contribute to thinking about matters that are pivotal to New Zealand ’s evolution as an environmentally sustainable nation, but which appear to be off current political, community or business radar screens. Dr Williams shares the ideas generated with a wide variety of audiences in New Zealand and abroad. In 2003 he gave over 60 presentations.

In addition to his role as Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Dr Williams is an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the School of Geography and Environmental Sciences, University of Auckland and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Canterbury and the University of Queensland . He is also a Life Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Agricultural Science and a member of the NZ Ecological Society and Royal Society of NZ. In April 2004, Dr Williams was awarded Lincoln University degree of Doctor of Natural Resources, honoris causa.

Dr Williams shares his environmental and sustainability interests with his partner Pam, past President of the New Zealand Association of Environmental Education and a Victoria University Research Fellow in this field. Together they are re-vegetating a hillside section in Wellington , having defeated the resident possums, and enjoying their energy efficient home on great Wellington days.

Pam and Morgan have two adult children. Sara is a social anthropologist working for the Ministry of Emergency Management. Philip is an industrial designer and international house music DJ, doing web, print and furniture design through his company Second Sphere Ltd.

Senior Negotiator and Deputy Director, Trade Negotiations Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Vangelis studied at Auckland and Harvard and worked at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI). Subsequently, he joined MFAT and was posted to the New Zealand Embassy in Moscow . In 1999, Vangelis worked for the Russian Ministry of Agriculture with a team of economists to construct a partial equilibrium model to determine the possible impact of WTO accession on the Russian agriculture sector. He also provided technical assistance on currency/inflation and employment adjustment (including the hysteresis phenomenon) to the Russian Ministry of Finance. He then worked on WTO technical assistance projects in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan as part of a joint USAID/EU TACIS project.

In 2001-2003, Vangelis joined the OECD as the Chief Adviser (Sustainable Development). He worked as the principal technical adviser on trade and environment to the Chair ( Indonesia ) of the 2002 Bali UNCSD Preparatory Committee meeting for the World Summit on Sustainable Development. He undertook this role again on behalf of South Africa during the Summit in Johannesburg

In 2004, Vangelis returned to the Ministry and managed the modelling work for the China-New Zealand FTA in Economics Division. He now works in the Trade Negotiations Division, managing WTO ‘rules’ issues (subsidies, fish subsidies, countervailing duties, anti-dumping measures, Regional Trade Agreements at the WTO etc); as well as trade and investment; FTA/WTO policy coherence; and trade and environment, labour and development-related issues. In 2004, he was guest speaker at the joint International Institute for Environment and Development and International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development Strategic Dialogue on Agriculture, Trade Negotiations, Poverty and Sustainability. The same year he was invited to join the OECD’s International Economics Expert Working Group advising the UK-led Ministerial Task Force on IUU Fishing.

ECO Annual Conference

2005 - Mountains to the Deep Sea

ECO Conference Programme

Friday 24th June

Vanessa Atkinson

Dr Martin Cryer

Penelope Figgis, AM

Janet Grieve

Michael Lawley

Debs Martin