The freshwater debate

• Water quality and flows have deteriorated significantly over the last 20 years

• Central Government / Regional Councils and the National Policy Statement on Freshwater

• Community expectations

• High profile cases – Taupo, Rotorua Lakes, Horizons One Plan & now it is our turn

Tukituki Catchment Resource management Challenge

• Background – River system under stress (water quality issues & overallocated use of water)

• Ruataniwha Water Storage Scheme proposed – environmental and economic benefits

• NPS Freshwater & Plan Change 6 – Tukituki first catchment – Community values define freshwater objectives– Water quality & quantity limits & targets set to meet the

freshwater objectives – Policies, rules, regulation and implementation programs

created realise limits and targets

Plan Change 6

• Tukituki Phosphorus limited – Nitrogen managed to avoid toxicity impacts

• Nitrogen managed to maintain ecological health & phosphorus managed to minimise algae occurrence – Nitrogen

• LUC based nitrogen leaching cap• 0.8 DIN limit • Farm Environmental Management Plan (FEMP)• Very little tolerances

– Phosphorus • Stock exclusion • FEMP• Voluntary adoption of good practices

Implications for you

• Wairoa Catchment Plan ~ 2016-17 • Local issues Whangawehi – Ecoli etc• Market signals – beyond rules and regulations =

Freshwater objectives• Avoid playing catch up • New ways of managing natural resources – Working together– Realistic timeframes and contexts– Attitude changes on all sides– Collective ownership of problems – Systems solutions

Catchment Communism

• Safety in numbers! • Governance vacuum• Advocacy – governance back • Local plans for local people – legitimacy • Social solutions to complex water quality problems• Collective bargaining ability • Peer sanction • Resilience for the future – social capital, it’s who you

know!