Standing strong for the cause

Sir Alan’s work has taken him throughout the Otago high country and Fiordland. Photo: ©Rod Morris

STANDING STRONG

FOR THE CAUSE

BY SARA BUNNY

As a distinguished scientist and tireless environmental advocate, Sir Alan Mark has dedicated his long career to protecting New Zealand’s stunning natural beauty. Whether it’s standing up for Fiordland lakes or taking a stance against high country erosion, he’s faced his fair share of controversy over the years. But Alan, who now lives at Summerset at Bishopscourt with his wife Patricia, Lady Mark, wouldn’t have it any other way.

It was in the late 1950s that Alan Mark, a young scientist in the botany department at the University of Otago, was invited to take a look at an intriguing project. An electricity company wanted to raise the water levels of Fiordland’s Lake Manapouri and Lake Te Anau to boost power production, and Alan had the expertise to advise on how higher lake levels would impact the plants and animals on the shorelines. At the time, he saw it as an interesting sideline to his other work. Little did he know, it would go on to become the high-profile Save Manapouri campaign, a political hot potato, and a turning point in the New Zealand public’s awareness of conservation issues.

“They wanted to raise Lake Manapouri by about 26m, and raise Lake Te Anau as far as they could without threatening the township,” Alan says. “We were really concerned as the lake rising was only going to increase power production by about 5.4% per year, with potentially devastating effects to the surrounding environment. So, we got involved and it soon became a highly contentious issue.

“The Save Manapouri petition opposing the lake rising gathered almost 250,000 signatures, which was a record at the time. It became a really political issue, and when Labour won the 1972 election, they announced they would not be raising the lake levels.”

“There’s no doubt in my mind that climate change has to be addressed as a matter of urgency”

The campaign went down in the history books as a major win for the environment, and paved the way for strict management guidelines of the lakes that exist to this day. But Alan’s work didn’t end there – he was made chair of the Guardians of Lake Manapouri, Monowai and Te Anau group, a role he stayed in for the next 26 years.

Along the way, he became a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, and he and Patricia raised two sons and two daughters. After retirement, Alan went on to chair the Dunedin-based environmental group Wise Response. He’s still involved as a patron of the society, alongside former Prime Minister and Minister for the Environment Sir Geoffrey Palmer.

Tales from Alan’s extensive conservation career, which also included once controversial studies into degradation of the Otago high country, were recorded in his 2015 memoir, Standing My Ground.

“The title of my book sums it up really,” says the humble ecologist. “You stand by your science, as long as you’re confident your science is sound. Regardless of the attacks you get – and there will inevitably be a range of attacks – you stand your ground. I think there is greater public awareness and concern for environmental issues now than when I first got involved, and that’s very reassuring.”

These days, ensuring young people are supported in studying environmental sciences is top of the list for Alan, who completed his PhD in the United States on a Fulbright scholarship. Last year, he and Patricia made a generous donation to the University of Otago’s ecology fund.

“Attending university today is expensive. This was something we could do to help future generations make the most of their potential.”

And when it comes to today’s key environmental concerns, Alan says it’s the younger generations that should inspire us all to take action.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that climate change has to be addressed as a matter of absolute urgency,” he explains. “We ignore it at our peril. The longer we wait to take appropriate action, the worse the problem will become and the more we’ll throw it to future generations to handle. We want future generations to have as good an environment to enjoy as we have. I believe climate change is of similar or greater magnitude to the current pandemic.”

Sir Alan Mark at work at Mt Burns, Fiordland (top left), and Omarama (bottom). Patricia, Lady Mark (top right), is also a scientist, and has worked with the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust and the Otago Natural History Trust.