Ned takes the fear out of uncertainty

Often uncertainty is scary and not something people want to talk about, but for science communication specialist Ned Norton, acknowledging the uncertainty is the key to making progress.

Such an expert is Ned on communicating uncertainty, that he’s been quietly named the “Ashley Bloomfield of Uncertainty” within the walls of Environment Southland, as he helps the People, Water and Land programme team and the Regional Forum, navigate the challenges of improving water quality. Ned plays a key role within the technical team for the People, Water and Land programme as the co-lead for the science.

A modest man, somewhat daunted by the title he’s been informally granted, Ned has a science background, originally studying biochemistry and with a long career working for the former Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), an engineering consultancy, NIWA and consulting to several ministries and regional councils.

ned-and-kelsi — Ned Norton with Regional Forum member Kelsi Hayes.

He transitioned from pure science into looking at the application of science in policy development, because he saw there was a real gap for scientists in that space.

“Although I have a strong interest in pure science, I also have a really strong interest in people and the process of making resource management decisions, and how people are involved in that process.”

Ned says he views his role as something of a science interface and, now having had his own consulting company for eight years, he’s been heavily involved in the challenge of managing land and water resources in several regions around the country.

“There are new challenges and new geography in every region, and you can’t pull a solution from one region and just apply it to another. However, the challenge of the ‘commons’ is similar everywhere.”

Ned refers to the challenge of the commons regularly – defining and identifying the capacity of the common resources (water and to an extent land) for use.

“There’s different people and different personalities involved in coming up with the right solutions in each region, but the common challenge remains the same.”

fiordland-nortons — The Nortons in Fiordland – Ned and his family, wife Tamsin and daughters Lena and Holly enjoyed a road camping trip around Southland last summer, including time in Fiordland.

As for the challenge of uncertainty, this is where Ned has strong views. He says being really open and transparent about uncertainty is key to bridging the gap and coming to solutions.

“We know quite a lot, we know the direction we need to move in, we know the approximate size of the change required, but there are a whole lot of value judgements and choices to be made about how we get there. This all impacts on people and although there’s a role for governance to make those decisions, community opinions are key to that.”

It’s here where Ned is truly seeing the value of Southland’s Regional Forum setup. As a firm believer in community collaborative processes, he sees the work being undertaken by the Regional Forum as crucial in finding solutions that will work for Southland.

“Unfortunately this isn’t a case of everybody will get what they want, but we hope to come up with solutions that everybody can live with.

“If there was a solution that gave everybody what they wanted, it would be done already and we wouldn’t have a problem with water quality.”

Ned describes the management of water and land resources as a bit of a tangle of complications, every time you pull one thread another unravels and he knows the region has some big hurdles to overcome.

“Like other parts of the country, Southland has quite a big challenge to achieve environmental outcomes, but I think you are following a good process and this has been reflected by the Council and Te Ao Marama board and the mature, respectful conversations being had.

“I also think the Iwi-Council relationship is pretty special here.”

Meanwhile, Ned is also getting to enjoy some of what Southland has to offer and exploring the beauty of what he’s working to help protect.

“I love the Southland environment, I really enjoy what the region offers geographically and I’ve definitely been getting out and about in it.”

You can read the full Envirosouth magazine as a PDF online here.

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Ned takes the fear out of uncertainty

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Ned takes the fear out of uncertainty

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