Scientist’s environmental focus recognised
Leading scientist Dr Morgan Williams is to be a Companion of the Queen’s Service Order for services to the State and the environment.
‘‘It was a bit of a surprise,’’ Williams said of the New Year Honour from his home at Richmond, near Nelson.
Williams grew up on a dairy farm in Canterbury. He has degrees in ecology from the universities of Canterbury (BSc and MSc) and Bath (PhD), and an honorary doctorate in natural resources from Lincoln University.
He worked in Antarctica and Fiji before dedicating his work towards the public sector.
For 21 years, Williams worked for the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, leading major ecological research on pests before serving as the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment for 10 years from 1997. He has a long interest in climate change and water resources.
Williams moved to the Nelson area in 2012 where he remains an active environmental leader.
He is chairman of the Cawthron Foundation, which raises funds, provides scholarships, runs science fairs and the New Zealand River Awards.
A supporter of the Waimea dam project, which is now under construction in the Lee Valley, Williams has also called for a national strategy for water.
Williams was chairman of the World Wide Fund for Nature in
New Zealand for eight years until May 2019 and a former member of its international council. During Williams’ time as chairman, the World Wide Fund for Nature contributed to doubling the size of the Ma¯ui dolphin protected area, facilitated a large landscape protection project in Northland, initiated annual Environmental Innovation Awards and contributed to major efforts to secure the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary.