Locals key to setting NPS water targets | Rural

Last month the Government released the National Policy Statement (NPS) for Freshwater. Federated Farmers looks at what it means.

The National Policy Statement sets up a clear expectation that local people, supported by excellent information, must take a lead in establishing limits and targets for their own catchments.

The NPS preamble sets the tone, stating all New Zealanders have a common interest in ensuring lakes, rivers, aquifers and wetlands are managed wisely.

It also states that a management framework is needed so water can contribute both toNew Zealand's economic growth and environmental integrity. This management needs to reflect catchment level variation between water bodies while the limit-setting process must take into consideration local values and be informed by the best available scientific and socio-economic knowledge.

This last point is central and could have been taken direct from Federated Farmers' policy.

The process of setting limits may seem a dry task, but, at the catchment level where these discussions belong, it is about local people working together to agree how much water is kept for the river, how much is needed for community water supply and how farming, industrial and recreational users, can come to agreements about efficient allocation and water-quality targets.

In Canterbury, Gisborne, Otago and Southland this process is already under way in various stages and Federated Farmers acknowledges the work of those farmers who have stepped up to join multi-stakeholder catchment forums. The process is intensive and the template for effective engagement is still a work in progress.

However, it is at the local level where we are most likely to see local people's innovation and pragmatism applied to delivering robust and enduring pathways forward.
Is it all beer and skittles?

Not necessarily. The NPS provides that where water bodies do not meet agreed freshwater standards, regional councils have to specify targets. They can implement regulatory and non-regulatory methods to improve water quality to meet those targets. In the past, the easy option was often remote control by regulation and the NPS keeps that door open for councils.

Putting the investment into positive collaboration and practical partnerships may be the harder option, but the NPS, supported by other Government initiatives, is holding that door open too.

Across New Zealand, there is an existing network of very successful integrated catchment management projects laying a foundation for the catchment approach in the NPS.

These projects are not a cheap or short-term fix and not all catchments can, or should, be undertaken at once.

The issues are complex, not all the answers are in and the resources of science, industry and councils are being stretched to deliver the quality information and people required to support action on the ground. The NPS recognises the complexities and makes provision for progressive implementation by councils over a 20-year period through to 2030.

A prioritised approach is clearly mandated here and Federated Farmers expects this to mean an initial focus on selected priority catchments, followed by progressive roll-out of resources to other catchments across a region.

Hopefully, we can get to a point where we have learnt many lessons and make the process less resource hungry along the way. It is possible that this next phase, led by local people, supported by industry and science and councils, could indeed deliver the water management step change intended by the NPS.