SDG 14 - Life Below Water

Natural systems and sustainable drainage on campus

Part of the University’s Landscape Plan includes a focus on natural systems and sustainable drainage.  While a physical design, it explicitly outlines operational guidelines implemented to meet water quality standards and protect ecosystems, wildlife, human health and welfare by controlling discharge.

The Landscape Masterplan mandates the incorporation of raingardens and planted swales into paved areas. This serves as a primary guideline to deliver the "highly valuable ability to filter runoff and pollutants in the hardscape environment," thereby pre-treating discharge to safeguard human health and downstream ecosystems.

It also sets a clear guideline that hardstand areas must combine planted swales, raingardens, and permeable paving to actively "further reduce the number of contaminants entering the water system." This dictates a necessary management practice to minimise pollution risks to both water users and natural habitats.

There is also a requirement for enhancing existing water races and swales and connecting them to wetlands and stormwater basins. This guideline ensures that discharge is managed across a natural purification network, maximizing detention time and promoting ecological function to protect the health of receiving waterways.

The overall strategy, where appropriate, aligns with the Lincoln Envirotown Strategy, implicitly committing the University's discharge management efforts to the broader community's local environmental goals, which includes the conservation of local ecosystems.

Educational programmes and community outreach on the sustainable fisheries

Lincoln University runs educational programmes and community outreach focused on the sustainable management of fisheries. The core of this is the Fish Futures research programme, which directly involves Māori and the wider community to co-develop strategies for managing freshwater fish impacted by climate change. This work also produces policy guidance, ensuring local community values inform national decision-making on resource management.

Lincoln University (NZ) offers educational outreach activities for local and national communities, primarily focused on the sustainable management of fisheries and related environmental impacts, which encompasses issues like overfishing and destructive practices.

Promoting the conservation and sustainable utilisation of lakes and rivers

Masters and PhD students from both Lincoln University and the University of Canterbury present their research at the 2024 Waterways Postgraduate Student Conference. Students gain the opportunity to showcase their work while industry professionals from across the water sector learn what is happening in water research. In presenting, Lincoln University students directly demonstrate the University's support for events promoting the conservation and sustainable utilisation of lakes and rivers, which are integral to the wider marine ecosystem. The conference serves as a vital knowledge-sharing event, promoting the sustainable utilisation and management of rivers and lakes by making advanced academic research accessible to industry, government, and community stakeholders. Key theme present included sustainable utilisation and planning, water resource management and ecology and conservation.

Learn more about the Waterways Centre for Freshwater Management - a joint partnership between Canterbury and Lincoln Universities.

Maintaining and extending ecosystems 

Lincoln University contributes to maintaining and extending ecosystems by engaging with the public and stakeholders to ensure biodiversity conservation strategies are socially acceptable and effective for long-term success.

The research co-authored by Lincoln University's Professor Chad Hewitt, titled Critical coastal values impacted by marine bioinvasions, demonstrates this by identifying social  values at risk and informing conservation strategy.

Creating a marine biosecurity risk framework

Lincoln University Professor Chad Hewitt co-authored A holistic marine biosecurity risk framework that is inclusive of coastal, cultural, economic and ecological values, in Marine Policy, presenting a holistic seven-step marine biosecurity risk framework. This new framework systematically assesses the ecological, economic, social, and cultural impacts of non-indigenous marine species. It is designed to be an alternative to conventional tools by promoting stakeholder engagement and inclusive decision-making, ultimately facilitating more informed and equitable biosecurity outcomes that address the full integrity of coastal areas.

Aquatic ecosystems

Lincoln University has a comprehensive plan to minimise physical, chemical, and biological alterations of aquatic ecosystems, anchored by a clear policy and specific operational strategies.

The University's Sustainability Policy explicitly commits to "minimise freshwater and marine pollution" from its land-based activities and to undertake "practices that promote local aquatic ecosystem health."

This commitment to preventing chemical and biological alteration is put into practice via the Natural Systems and Sustainable Drainage Strategy in the Landscape Master Plan. This operational plan minimises physical alteration (e.g., erosion and flooding) by using techniques like swales and permeable paving to manage runoff flow, and minimises chemical alteration by using rain gardens and planted swales to filter pollutants before discharge into the wider water system.