Catherine C. "Cath" Wallace (born 1952) is a New Zealand

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...

and academic. She is a lecturer in economics and public policy at

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

, and has been active in environment organizations in New Zealand. She was awarded the

Goldman Environmental Prize The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists, one from each of the world's six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America. ...

in 1991, for her contributions to the protection of the environment of

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

Political work and activism

Since 1987, Wallace has been a lecturer at Victoria University in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

in economics and public policy focussing on the environment. She was the chair of the Environment and Conservation Organizations of New Zealand (ECO) for over a decade. ECO is a non-profit network of organization with a concern for conservation and the environment. Wallace is still a board member of ECO. She was a member of the Council of IUCN, the

World Conservation Union The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

for two terms. Her main focus was on keeping environmental costs in mind in national decision making. She pushed for reforms in environmental and energy policies. As part of her activism she led a resistance movement together with other activists against business interests that were trying to curtail the Resource Management Act. This act is important for the protection of natural resources. In her position in ECO she advocated to change the national fishery law to be changed to manage the entire ecosystem instead of just managing the fish harvest. Wallace researched the effects of New Zealand's fishery quota management system and pressed the Ministry of Fisheries to stop violating its environmental responsibilities under the New Zealand Fisheries Act of 1996. Wallace continues to advocate for the implementation of strong local environmental policies throughout New Zealand. Wallace was also co-founder of the New Zealand arm of the

Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition The Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC) is a global coalition of environmental non-governmental organizations with more than 150 members in 40 countries worldwide. ASOC has worked since 1978 to ensure that the Antarctica, Antarctic Conti ...

(ASOC) an international alliance that works for the comprehensive protection of Antarctica and repudiation of the Antarctic Minerals Convention. In association with ASOC she lobbied internationally on banning mining in antarctica. A major step in the protection of the Antarctic environment was made with the Antarctic Environmental Protocol. The protocol designates Antarctica as "a natural reserve, devoted to peace and science". Also known as the Madrid protocol it established rules for the protection of the environment and banned mining. In 2008, she collaborated on the book ''SEAFOOD Ecolabelling Principles and Practice''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, Cath Living people 1952 births Victoria University of Wellington faculty New Zealand environmentalists New Zealand women environmentalists Goldman Environmental Prize awardees