Keeping Lake Taupo Clean, Blue

Forest and Bird, Issue 296, 1 May 2000, Page 11

Keeping Lake Taupo Clean, Blue

—John Parsons.

ays of preserving the traditional values and cleanliness of New Zealand’s largest lake are currently under discussion in Taupo. The issues include contamination from lead weights, jet-skis, sewage from boats, fluctuating water levels, lake weed, contaminants in the storm-water entering the lake, black swan numbers and their excreta, and the future threat of nutrients from farms converted to dairying. A group of people concerned about Lake Taupo, and members of the public who may join them and speak at the group’s monthly meetings, contribute knowledge, skills, concerns and problem-solving guidance to the Taupo Lakes and Waterways Action Group. This is one of three groups formed by the Taupo District Council in 1997 in response to the needs of the council’s strategic plan and the wishes of the community it

serves. Many of the values the community wishes to preserve are fairly obvious — waters must be clear, safe to drink and swim in, and free of weeds. Highquality rivers and streams must sustain Taupo’s worldrenowned trout fishery. It is essential to preserve lake-mar-gin wilderness, the high-quality foreshore reserves, a wide range of recreational opportunities, and diverse natural habitats. The cultural significance of some areas must also be allowed for. Unique geological features need to be protected. Guided by these values and needs, many of the organizations involved, and concerned local citizens, meet at monthly evening forums. They include representatives of Forest and Bird who join with people from the Department of Conservation, fishing guides, forest managers, district councillors and officers,

Environment Waikato, Taupo Civic Trust, Federated Farmers, Maori trusts, hydro-electricity generators, and the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Science, to mention many of them. So valuable has the action group’s contribution become, that the district council has now formalized recognition of the group and the work it is doing. It has also reinforced the Council’s ongoing secretarial role by ensuring that such work is built into their officer’s jobspecifications in future — to guarantee an uninterrupted succession of action-group administration if an employee leaves. The group has no statutory obligations, nor power to enforce solutions to problems. So it is pleased that the council will take up one of its early recommendations — that Lake Taupo be declared a "National Treasure’ (or ‘Asset’ or ‘Icon’). Another of its initial sugges-

tions that key stake-holders in the continued health of the Taupo environment should come together and pledge themselves to a Lake Taupo Accord is on hold at present. If implemented, those two suggestions will do wonders for the ever-burgeoning Taupo tourist industry. And yet the industry appears to believe the place can never deteriorate — that its ‘use-by date’ is stamped ‘indefinite. Three annual Tourist Industry Forums called by the district council’s marketing arm failed to mention any concern for the environment. So it was good to hear the incoming Minister of Tourism, Mark Burton, at the fourth forum in January this year, underline the necessity for environmental care and enhancement if we are to sustain Taupo’s clean-green and cleanblue image.