Safeguarding Our Water for Future Generations
We hit the road and headed to Ashburton, the heart of irrigated land in Canterbury and New Zealand. The recent National Policy for Freshwater Management a core focus for this region given the significance water quality and efficiency has played over the past 80 years. Our most recent Innovation Series – Safeguarding our water the focus of the event.
Like with all of our Innovation Series events, our goal is to provide multiple perspectives and to distil the science and facts, whilst providing practical takeaways for the audience.
According to Dr Nick Kirk of Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, the future of land-use in Canterbury is likely to be driven by emissions prices, societal preferences and changing demands for goods and services. Faced with a changing climate, the region can expect increased rainfall in certain areas, whilst areas prone to drought are likely to become drier. Food production in Canterbury will feel the effects and pre-planning is essential to anticipate change, however, alternative land uses such as forestry, bioenergy production, local crop production and horticulture provide opportunities for diversifying future land-use alongside our current traditional uses.
Regardless of a changing climate, consumers preferences around the world are also changing and must be considered for future land use planning. John Leyland Penno, Chair of the Freshwater Leaders Group, described the change in consumer preferences and the opportunity to capture value from wealthy consumers who are willing to pay a premium for food that is produced in a way that is respectful to the environment. As the co-founder of Synlait, John has had the health of land and waterways in his sights and spoke about the changes recommended by the Land & Water Forum, as well as from working groups 10 years ago. Although many of the proposed changes in the National Policy statement are not necessarily new, the need for action is more pressing as waterways degrade across Aotearoa New Zealand.
John outlined the need to stop the decline of waterways by understanding at-risk catchments, reducing high risk land uses practices (excessive N and sediment loss, as well as intensification) and to protect waterways. Farmer-owned irrigation schemes, such as MHV Water, led by Chief Executive Melanie Brooks, have had to take on the role of environmental advisors and infrastructure managers, rather than just water delivery. Melanie described the transition the industry has undergone over the last 80 years and the focus they now have on investing in appropriate infrastructure, assisting their famers with Farm Environment Plans(FEP’s) and investing in the solutions needed to protect this precious resource for the future – storage, insights and future infrastructure.
All of our speakers agreed that no one, including our farmers and growers, wants to see the decline of freshwater in New Zealand. Everyone wants to be able to swim in and drink water from their local river, but communities must come together and be responsible for the future of water for generations to come. We have to solve this together to support the prosperity of New Zealand and its communities.
To watch the full event and access presentations slides, please click here.