ProfessorAnn Brower

Professor Ann Brower is a specialist in environmental science whose work examines how decisions, institutions, policies, and regulatory frameworks shape the stewardship of land, water, biodiversity, and natural resources. She is known for science-led legislative changes to the Building Act, the Resource Management Act, and the Crown Pastoral Land Act.  Her work has meaningful impact from city centres to the remotest high-country landscapes of Aotearoa.

Her research analyses how laws and policies influence land‑use outcomes, ecological protection, and the distribution of environmental benefits and burdens. She works across physical geography, environmental science, economics, policy, governance, and the law, evaluating the effectiveness of regulatory frameworks and governance arrangements in achieving sustainable and equitable outcomes. Her scholarship informs national and regional debates on conservation management, resource governance, and institutional reform, contributing evidence‑based legislative reform that support more resilient and just environmental systems.

In addition to science-informed law changes to 3 laws with extensive geographic impact, she works with consulting clients to create meaningful change on the ground.  She has done consulting work for Canterbury, Southland, Otago, and Waikato Regional Councils as well as Ministry for the Environment.

She has also contributed to environmental decision‑making as an expert witness, appearing several times in Environment Court proceedings and once in the High Court.