Skin And Fur To Fly At Conference (In A Sustainable Way)

Hot Issues In Resource Management To Be Debated

A major resource management conference that includes topics of concern to farmers is to be held in Hamilton in November.

2001: An Environmental Odyssey will focus on ways of achieving a workable balance between the interests of farming, tourism and other businesses, and the need for sustainability and protection of the environment.

Delegates will discuss the benefits and problems in linking environmental management with social and economic policy. Changes in resource management policy, law, science and practice, and the issues involved will be debated in a series of workshops over three days.

Key international speakers include Gary Gardner from the Worldwatch Institute in Washington DC, Barney Foran of the CSIRO, Canberra, and Ann

Kinzig, Assistant Professor in biology and ecology at Arizona State University.

New Zealand speakers and session leaders include Professor John Hay from

the University of Waikato, Morgan Williams, NZ Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, and Lindsay Gower, Acting CEO, Ministry for the Environment.

Organiser Jennifer Pearson says that the Conference is one of a series that began in 1971 and continued in 1981 and 1991.

“The earlier events were science focused. This year we are bringing together policy, technical and other experts who are actively involved in environmental and resource management in New Zealand, and overseas”, she says.

“It will certainly not be an academic talkfest. The workshops will be designed to allow people with widely diverging interests and opinions to put their views and debate practical policy issues.”

The Conference will be held at the University of Waikato on 21 – 23 November. Full details are available on the website www.2001odyssey.co.nz , or by contacting the Conference office on 07-838-2441.

[For further information, contact Jennifer Pearson on 07-576-7383, or 021-273-4866, or jennifer.zest@xtra.co.nz]

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