Plant ecologist Alan Mark has spent most of his life researching the ecology and sustainable management of indigenous ecosystems. He has served on several official organisations, including ManapouriTe Anau Lake Guardians, National Parks and Reserves Authority, Conservation Authority, Otago Conservation Board, Land Settlement Board, Mountain Lands Committee and Fiordland Marine Guardians. He is a distinguished life member of the Forest & Bird Protection Society, a life member of the NZ Ecological Society and the Ecological Society of America, an honorary member of the NZ Alpine Club, a Fellow of the Royal Society of NZ and recipient of the society's Hutton Medal and Fleming Environmental Award. He received a CBE in 1989, a DCNZM in 2001 and was knighted in 2009 for his services to conservation. He received an honorary DSc from the University of Otago in 2014.