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The politics of water governance in Central Otago, New Zealand: Struggling with a nineteenth century legacy
Author(s) -
Watson Niall,
Perkins Harvey C.
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
new zealand geographer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.335
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 1745-7939
pISSN - 0028-8144
DOI - 10.1111/nzg.12333
Subject(s) - politics , corporate governance , dominance (genetics) , interpretation (philosophy) , political science , political economy , geography , sociology , law , management , economics , biochemistry , chemistry , computer science , gene , programming language
Abstract Today, in Central Otago, New Zealand, with competing claims for water beyond irrigation, farmers and water conservation interests are at loggerheads, and freshwater management has become a site of intense debate, competition and political action. We comment on the polarised politics of water governance in Central Otago, writing from the perspective of fish and gamebird management. Our commentary is allied to an interpretation of freshwater allocation for irrigation in New Zealand, which emphasises the emergence and dominance of a singular ‘more water’ discourse in rural development in the 2000s.