Launch of Our Land 2018 Introduction We’ve heard about some serious and troubling findings about the state of our land. I believe we can turn these trends around, if all New Zealanders play our part, and I’ll explain why I am confident about this. I’m going to talk about three of the four key areas in this report - the state of our soil, urban growth, and biodiversity. Liz has covered the other key area – data gaps. None of these are new issues, but this report helps us understand more about them, and where we need to focus our efforts. Because what we do on our land really matters for our environment and economy. Half of our export earnings – 35.4 billion dollars – come from land-based primary production. How we use and manage our land affects not just the land itself but also the quality of our water and our marine environment; the volume of greenhouse gases we emit, and the habitat and ecosystems our native species depend on. Soil quality This report makes it clear that we need to pay attention to what’s going on with our soils. 1
It’s not news that we hav e seen a rapid increase in intensification of agriculture - in particular, we’ve seen a shift to intensive dairying in some regions. And the more intense the use of the land, the more the environmental impact. The report tells us we have problems in some of our soils. This includes 33% of sites tested having elevated phosphorous levels. Phosphorous primarily comes from the fertiliser we use on our land. At high levels phosphorus can travel into our waterways through erosion and runoff, where it can trigger growth of unwanted plants and reduce water quality. About 44% of sites tested had low macroporosity levels. Macroporosity is about the number of big pore spaces that let air and water move through soil. Think about healthy soil as a sponge, full of air and water – when the sponge is compressed, air and water can’t get through. This affects the productivity of the soil – it’s harder for plants to grow if there are low macroporosity levels. These issues are caused in large part by farming practices, but good farming practices are also a large part of the solution. Farmers know their production depends on their soil and many are using information, science and advice to improve their soil management. Landcare Research reports that almost three quarters of farmers are actively managing their fertiliser input, which helps reduce environmental impacts. Farmers are trying to address macroporosity by reducing pugging by stock. Pugging is when animals intensively trample wet soils. I’m told that 60% of farmers whos e farms are prone to pugging are working to reduce this. These farmers are to be applauded for their efforts. However this report shows more needs to be done. At a regional level, we are seeing Regional Councils introducing rules and regulations that we expect will, over time, limit moves to more intensive land use where that would damage the environment. 2
This is partly in response to the introduction of the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management. Whether these developments will do enough, quickly enough, to limit environmentally- damaging intensification is a question we are currently considering, along with our colleagues at the Ministry of Primary Industries. EROSION Another critical pressure point this report highlights is erosion. We are losing 192 million tonnes a year. Much erosion is natural but about half - 84 million tonnes - is from pasture, where we can have an influence. That’s the equivalent of four-hundred-thousand dump trucks of soil unloaded every week for a year. Erosion is bad for the health of our rivers and estuaries, and the life in them. In some places, sediment builds up and slows water flow, which increases the risk of flooding. It can take up to 400 years to build up a centimetre of soil – we can lose that much in one storm. As a result of climate change we are seeing more extreme weather events, like intense rainstorms that trigger big landslides - and that means more erosion impacting on more New Zealanders. There is some good work under way. For example, Horizons Regional Council’s sustainable land use initiative has been tackling hill country erosion for a decade now. About 680 farmers, covering over half a million hectares, have farm plans in place which are helping them farm more sustainably, including actions that target erosion. They have planted trees, ‘retired’ erosion prone land by fencing it off and let it revert to shrub or native forest, and they’ve fenced waterways to keep stock out. 3
This work is delivering benefits to the wider region, because reduced sediment in rivers means they’re less likely to flood, swimming holes are cleaner and native river species are recovering. Their modelling points to a 34 per cent reduction in sediment load. Many farmers in other regions are also taking similar measures. Successful programmes like this could be scaled up. URBAN GROWTH It is not only our farmers and growers who need to think about the environmental sustainability of their actions. This report shows a 10% increase in the amount of land covered by our towns and cities. The challenge with it is that this growth is pushing into some of our most versatile land. Versatile land, which is highly productive and suitable for cultivation and horticulture, is relatively rare, with only 5.2 percent of our land falling into that category. I t’s vital that we find the right balance between protecting this valuable asset and identifying areas for future housing development. This is on our work programme. As part of the Urban Growth Agenda we are looking at setting direction for urban development and considerations for versatile land will be a part of this. Well-functioning cities can contribute to environmental outcomes. I’m heartened by the fact that councils are more actively factoring sustainability into their decision making and I’d encourage them to step this up. BIODIVERSITY This takes me to the last issues I want to touch on, biodiversity. 4
Like every environment report we’ve done to date, this report highlights the fact that many of our native species are in trouble. Nearly 83% of native birds, bats, reptiles and frogs classified as threatened or at risk of extinction. Indigenous habitats keep shrinking and our native species are under increased pressure from pests and predators. There are less and less of those special, unique and often small areas that support so much of our biodiversity. We have a global responsibility to protect our distinctive biodiversity. The report shows us that where we focus, we can get improvements. It reports that 20 species of birds are doing much better thanks to some intensive conservation management. We have to keep this up. The protection of New Zealand’s precious species and their habitats requires us t o work collectively together. An important part of this is ensuring communities are supported and empowered to take action. To help enable this, Government and Regional Councils are committed to working in partnership to deliver on NZ ’s goals for biodiversity. Since our last report, the Department of Conservation and Regional Councils have signed a Memorandum of Understanding and now have a joint work programme focussed on where we can make the greatest difference. This includes large scale pest management, further development of collective approaches with our communities and a joint biodiversity monitoring programme. The Biodiversity Collaboration Group is developing a draft for a national policy statement that will provide support to councils to improve biodiversity management across the country, particularly on private land where many threatened species are found. 5
Likewise, there are literally hundreds of amazing initiatives around the country by councils, community groups and individuals to address biodiversity issues in their own neighbourhoods. Again, the opportunity is to join up and scale up those initiatives wherever possible. Conclusion Climate change is going to magnify many of the issues I’ve talked about today. Liz commented on gaps in data, and I think it’s important that we prioritise filling them. This report will help inform our work across the wide range of issues affected by our land use – from water quality and greenhouse gas emissions, to sustainable economic growth and well-being. I really encourage others - including councils, businesses, community groups, as well as central government policy makers - to use what it is telling us as we make choices for the future. It does present challenges, which are redeemable, if we focus on them. I know that New Zealanders care about our land, and I am confident that together we can tackle the issues. ENDS 6
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