More than 50 stakeholders, from iwi, local and regional government and community groups, will listen to talks by 25 university researchers who are confronting the country’s freshwater challenges.
The forum was organised by the university’s newly appointed Carolyn Burns Chair in Freshwater Sciences, Prof Ross Thompson, and will include speakers from a range of departments, including biochemistry, geography, botany and zoology.
Prof Thompson said intensification of agriculture and forestry, effects of urban development and the influence of invasive species were all "immediate challenges" in New Zealand’s rivers and lakes.
Those challenges were becoming "urgent", and the university had a set of research strengths in water science which uniquely placed it to address those challenges, he said.
"We need to move beyond blaming particular sectors and work collectively to bring research to bear on doing better at managing our catchments.
"That will require partnerships and it will require investment."
He said talks at the forum would be on a range of topics, from water quality to fish fossils and everything in between.
Students and staff at different stages of their research careers would make presentations.
"We are aiming for short, pithy talks to start conversations with colleagues and stakeholders.
"A challenge we need to deal with is how to work better across disciplines within the university and externally.
"Partnerships with iwi, government and industry are essential to creating lasting change in how we manage and protect freshwaters."
One of the highlights of the forum would be a virtual keynote speech by Victoria University of Wellington freshwater ecology researcher and Institute for Governance and Policy Studies lecturer Dr Mike Joy, who would provide a "call to arms" to move more quickly in dealing with New Zealand’s water quality issues.
The forum is not open to the public.
