The fully funded doctoral positions are part of New Zealand's first Nature Positive Hub.

Nature positive means going beyond reducing environmental harm to actively restoring biodiversity and regenerating ecosystems. The researchers will examine how organisations, markets and governments can redesign systems and ways of working while supporting long-term social and economic wellbeing.

They will tackle pressing environmental and economic challenges ranging from regenerative forestry and the future of fisheries management to biodiversity markets, corporate governance, rights of nature and regional environmental restoration.

Other projects will examine how communication shapes support for environmental action and what it would mean for Aotearoa New Zealand to treat nature as shared sovereign wealth.

Dr Billie Lythberg (Business School) will supervise a project exploring why and how some large-scale environmental restoration initiatives in Aotearoa New Zealand have endured while others have struggled.

She says understanding the relationships, governance and long-term commitment behind successful projects will help inform future regional restoration efforts in New Zealand and internationally.

“The environmental challenges we face are systems challenges. Understanding why and how some nature-positive initiatives thrive requires us to look beyond individual projects to the relationships, governance, and practices that sustain them over time.

“This research will help identify transformational and relational approaches to regeneration that can support resilient communities and flourishing ecosystems in Aotearoa and beyond."