Catherine Knight’s latest book is being launched by the Minister for the Environment, Hon David Parker.
Beyond Manapouri: 50 years of environmental politics in New Zealand traces the history of environmental governance in Aotearoa New Zealand since the heady days of the 1969 Save Manapouri campaign and tackles the reasons for our failure to address our biggest environmental issues.
The book covers topics of freshwater management, land use, climate change and the strengthening role of iwi and hapū in environmental management. It examines the legislation and establishment of institutions that followed in the wake of the campaign to stop the government from raising the water level of Lake Manapouri for a hydro dam, which is credited with the emergence of the environmental era in New Zealand. The book shows how far we have come and reveals the underlying patterns in our approach to environmental issues, which transcend the government of the day.
About the launch:
When: Thursday 14 June, 5 p.m.
Where: Vic Books Pipitea, Wellington
About the author:
Dr Catherine Knight is the author of New Zealand’s Rivers: An environmental history (CUP, 2016) which was long-listed for the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2017, short-listed for the New Zealand Heritage Book Awards and selected as one of the Listener’s Best Books for 2016. Her 2014 book Ravaged Beauty: An environmental history of the Manawatu (Dunmore Press) won the J.M. Sherrard Award in New Zealand Regional and Local History, and Palmerston North Heritage Trust’s inaugural award.