CONFERENCE WELCOME
Kia ora koutou | Hello everyone,
On behalf of the organising committee, we would like to invite you to join us for this year’s Australasian Groundwater / New Zealand Hydrological Society Joint Conference in Auckland. The conference is organised by the New Zealand and Australian Chapters of the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH) and the NZ Hydrological Society (NZHS).
The conference theme is “Manaaki Wai (caring for our water): learning from the past, adapting for the future”. It captures the idea that water is a living entity, with its own mauri (life force) that needs to be respected and cared for, which is central to te ao Māori (Māori worldview). It is up to communities, scientists, engineers and policy makers, to think about our past experiences, learn from our successes and failures, and adapt our thinking and priorities. These steps are necessary to prepare for and design a resilient future, at a critical turning point for our environment.
It’s been over 15 years since IAH and NZHS came together for a joint conference. We expect that this year’s conference will attract a large number of delegates from industry, consulting, government, research and academia, not only from the greater Australasian region but across the world as well. We hope that you will find the conference programme engaging, interesting and current. The technical programme is complemented by many social events, providing excellent networking opportunities, and fascinating field trips on the last day.
Ngā mihi nui | Kind Regards
Conny Tschritter and Theo Sarris
Conference co-Chairs
On behalf of the 2023 conference committee
