Farm drainage conflict in new wetlands policy

Press, 10 February 1986, Page 13

Farm drainage conflict in new wetlands policy

By

OLIVER RIDDELL

in Wellington

A policy for the management of wetlands, to be administered by the new Department of Conservation, has been ratified by the Government. But it does not exactly square with the Government’s policy on farm drainage. The Minister for the Environment Mr Marshall, said New Zealand was a signatory to the International Convention on Wetlands and shared overseas concern about the loss of wetlands as a habitat. The need for a coordinated policy had been long overdue, and the new policy recognised the need to retain natural wetland ecosystems. It also recognised the many functions of wetlands including their importance to native plants and ani-

mals, their hydrological role, and their importance for landscape diversity and enhancement. He said that lack of knowledge about wetlands had been a concern. An inventory of wetlands of ecological and representative importance was almost completed. The inventory, in conjunction with a co-ordi-nated national policy would enable a greater degree of protection for wetlands. The policy had 12 aims.

© To act urgently to protect by reservation wetlands that met the criteria of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources for wetlands of international importance. © To protect wetlands of national importance and, where appropriate, wetlands of regional and local importance.

®To gain adequate protection of representative examples of all types of wetland in private and public ownership, emphasising the least modified and most ecologically viable examples of each kind. © To retain or re-estab-lish wetlands significant for their scenic, recreational and tourist values. @ To protect and manage habitats important to native plants and animals giving priority to rare and endangered species and habitats important to migratory bird species. © To protect improve, or re-establish wetlands and their access ways, which are important for fish.

® To promote management of wetland catchments so that relationships that exist within a wetland, and between a wetland and surrounding

ecosystems, are taken into account. © To protect and manage wetlands that have an important hydrological role. @ To maintain an inventory of the most significant wetlands. ©To promote public awareness and participation in wetlands. © To preserve and improve the opportunites wetlands, give for education, scientific study and recreation.

© To promote the tourism and recreational potential of wetlands. At its meeting on December 3 last year, the National Water and Soil Conservation Authority saw its role towards wetlands somewhat differently from the Government. It noted the Government’s intention to phase out farm drainage grants

on the West Coast of the South Island by March 31, 1990. It decided that the onfarm drainage policy should continue in the meantime, but only on developed farm land where productivity would be increased by improved drainage, or on undeveloped land that had been cleared of forest, or terrace pakihi. The authority considered these were exceptions "where no significant wetland values will be lost by draining.” It agreed that wetlands “having significant ecological, wildlife, scientific, scenic, or other natural values which would be lost or diminished by drainage, particularly fertile flax-dominant swamps,” should be excluded from its farm drainage grant policy.