Bay of Islands Maritime Park Inc

Draft Issues & Options Doc [Chris Richmond, August 2009]

(DRAFT) Baycare: Issues and Options for more sustainable management of the catchments of the Bay of Islands

1. Purpose and Scope

The purpose of this Issues and Options paper is to summarise for the BOIMP Inc working group on catchment management,

• the specific issues (i.e. unresolved problems and unexploited opportunities) associated with the effects of catchment management on the marine and fresh waters and aquatic habitats of the Bay of Islands,
• a set of possible elements of a potential staged response to these issues, which could enable more cost-effective and faster progress towards reducing the present and future impacts on BOI waters of current catchment land-uses and activities.

The scope of issues addressed, at this stage, has been limited to those associated with catchment land-uses and activities which potentially have damaging impacts on the marine and fresh waters and aquatic habitats of the BOI. There would be additional issues to specify and address if the scope was extended to encompass all of the elements of “integrated catchment management”, with its dimensions of water allocation, flood risk management and biodiversity restoration, etc.  Similarly, the range of options considered has been limited to those which might contribute to achieving agreed outcomes for BOI waters and their catchments.

This document is set out to firstly clarify the issues, including the ecological problems in s.2.1, the social/cultural constraints in s.2.2, and the unexploited opportunities in s.3.1 to 3.3. These issues are reviewed in s.4, while s.5 sets out possible elements of a staged response to the issues.  The technical, organisational and policy options are suggested in s.6.  The paper concludes with some suggested first steps towards an initial tactical response to the issues, while concurrently developing a more strategic approach to achieving measurable environmental outcomes for BOI waters and catchments that the community agrees to pursue.

This initial draft is intended for presentation to and discussion at and following the workshop meeting on 18 August.  Feedback will be incorporated into a refined version for discussion with a wider audience.

2. Problems can usefully be divided into, firstly, ecologically (or environmentally) unacceptable states, and secondly social or cultural constraints to achieving an acceptable future state for BOI waters and their catchments.

2.1 Ecological problems

2.1.1. Excessive sediment is being generated in and transported down the rivers of a number of highly modified catchments contributing to the BOI waters.

2.1.2. Non-natural levels of erosion of steeplands and river banks contribute to that sediment generation, as well as wasting potentially productive soils and fertile farmland.

2.1.3. Stock can be lost unnecessarily to unfenced wetlands, riparian mires and river floods, some of which end up contaminating beaches in the BOI

2.1.4. Suspended and other fine sediments are transported into the saline waters of the BOI where clays are flocculated to settle nearby in sheltered environments, while other sediments are transported progressively down-current to settle elsewhere in the BOI and beyond.

2.1.5. While sediment settlement is a natural process in sheltered estuaries and bays, accelerated rates of deposition of fine sediments can damage some types of intertidal and subtidal habitats, as well as causing rapid shallowing of navigable waters.

2.1.6. Clay and other fine sediments are usually enriched with phosphorus and deposition of these in shallow intertidal areas attracts colonisation and rapid growth of mangroves, the breathing roots of which slow down water flows and so enable faster deposition.

2.1.7. Sediments that do not settle easily add to the effects of dissolved coloured land-plant materials (such as tannins and lignins), and (nutrient-stimulated) aquatic plant plankton to increase the turbidity of BOI waters.

2.1.8. Increasing turbidity decreases the extent to which light can reach plants growing on the bottom, causing them to reduce production and eventually die. Especially sensitive are the Zostera seagrass meadows which are very important as snapper nurseries. Most of the BOI intertidal beds have been lost and only a few of the subtidal beds remain in the sheltered bays of the eastern islands.

2.1.9. Losses of nutrients, especially nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), to water from land use activities have been accelerated by intensification of agriculture, stream channelization and discharges of partly treated effluent.

2.1.10. Effects of nutrient enrichment of waterbodies include cyanobacterial and algal blooms in lakes (eg Lake Omapere), dense weed or slime growth in streams (eg Kerikeri River) and increased phytoplankton and macroalgal growth in estuarine waterways (eg Kawakawa Inlet).

2.1.11. Major increases in production of such waterplants can also lead to similar increases in their death and decay, which uses up the limited amount of oxygen dissolved in water.  Serious oxygen depletion can occur in slow moving rivers, deeper lakes and coastal waters with restricted circulation (eg the infamous anoxic dead zones) causing loss of key species (eg plankton-filtering freshwater mussels in Lake Omapere).

2.1.12. Microbial contamination of BOI waters can result from direct discharges (eg partly treated sewage or abbatoir waste) and indirect or diffuse sources (eg individual discharges to leaky land from septic tanks, livestock, and domestic animals).

2.1.13. Microbial contamination effects range from an increase in the concentration of gut bacteria which are indicators of the presence of faecal contamination, and therefore the risk of harmful microbes such as viruses, through to the presence of pathogenic bacteria, viruses and planktonic toxins.

2.1.14. These can create a health risk through contamination of shellfish which feed by filtering large quantities of water and therefore concentrating those microbes. BOI waters were frequently closed to the harvesting of shellfish: especially the commercial harvest from oyster farms, until concerns about norovirus contamination were addressed. The regular restrictions on recreational harvest of shellfish in the wider BOI are because the naturally occurring dinoflagellate populations responsible for paralytic shellfish poisoning sometimes grow so dense that shellfish contamination thresholds are exceeded. The sources and role of nutrients in generating those high densities is unclear.

2.1.15. A wide variety of toxic contaminants is discharged into many BOI waters, but most are well below the concentrations at which adverse effects are expected.  The toxicants investigated in recent studies range from boat hull antifouling co-biocides to heavy metals in sediments.  These studies have suggested that the risks are relatively small and localised in the BOI.

2.1.16. A range of other potentially toxic substances are used in BOI catchments (such as pesticides, herbicides, animal treatment chemicals, timber treatment chemicals, etc) but the extent to which they contaminate BOI soils and waters has not been measured recently.  These types of toxic chemicals are responsible for most of the hundreds of “contaminated sites” on the registers maintained by each regional council.

2.2 Cultural and Social constraints

2.2.1. Iwi maori consider that some waterbodies are contaminated by discharges, especially of human waste, to the extent that the mauri of the waterbody is lost.  Recreational users of both fresh and coastal waters also consider that some waters are degraded to that the turbidity or apparent contamination makes undesirable the use that they intended.  The potential impacts on visitor experiences also has tourism implications.

2.2.2. Preventing further degradation of BOI waters and habitats is likely to have significant economic costs, although these are likely to be less than the cost of repairing or reversing the damage at a later stage.

2.2.3. Many of those who benefit from the land-uses and activities that can aggravate these problems have limited resources to contribute to reducing or offsetting those problems (eg sheep/beef farmers?).

2.2.4. Borrowing to invest in a substantial transition to more sustainable land-use practices, both urban and rural (eg Manuka honey production, totara plantations), is currently limited by both long-term interest rates being high and lenders reluctant to invest for longer terms.

2.2.5. Integrated catchment management, and its component disciplines such as soil conservation, have almost disappeared from the popular imagination over the last 20 years.  In parallel, the political and institutional support for application and funding of these programmes has shrivelled in many parts of the country, until major flooding or erosion events or water quality collapses shake communities out of their amnesia (or preoccupation with stadiums and entertainment!).

2.2.6. Perceptions that the problems are too large or complex or expensive can lead to a fatalistic outlook unless countered by local examples of success stories that can be checked out personally to inspire shared commitment to solutions.

2.2.7. The wide diversity of world views (or outlooks on life) range from those with a mission for problem-solving to those who actively seek out and respond to opportunities.  While there can be a tension between these world views, it can be nurtured into a creative tension by careful design of catchment management programmes that enable participation from those encompassing the full range of outlooks on life.

3. Unexploited opportunities

There is a wide range of “opportunities” which have yet to be explored, evaluated and potentially adopted into a set of initiatives to promote more sustainable management of the catchments of the BOI and the protection of its waters. These opportunities fall into various categories, including existing and potential policy tools, existing capacity and resources, future trends and events,.

3.1 Existing and Potential Policy Tools

3.1.1. The NRC Regional Water and Soil Plan 2004 is a statutory and binding document under the RMA which contains many objectives, policies, implementation programmes and rules to foster effective soil conservation and integrated catchment management in the BOI.

3.1.2. The NRC and FNDC are both developing policy tools and management options to mitigate flood risk in several priority catchments of the BOI.  Because minimising erosion derived sediment in rivers, and retaining fertile soils on floodplains, are important goals of both flood management and catchment management there is likely to be benefit from a more integrated approach to these two initiatives.

3.1.3. Carbon sequestration processes are likely to be included in New Zealand protocols for calculating the atmospheric carbon benefits of some land management practices, from afforestation to pest control. If a carbon trading system is established this could provide economic incentives for catchment friendly activities that sequester carbon, such as afforestation, woodlots and even pest control in forests.

3.2 Existing capacity and resources

3.2.1. The productive capacity of existing plant nurseries in the region is probably greater than the likely demand generated by land development pressures and associated mitigation plantings over the next 5 years, so the cost of plant materials for catchment enhancement works may be reduced.

3.2.2. Conservation Corps programmes are currently supported in Northland and could be extended to include catchment protection projects

3.2.3. New government programmes for subsidised youth employment could be utilised to develop and train “catchment-care” teams available for fencing, planting and nursery work.

3.2.4. The Corrections Inmate Employment Scheme (currently used at several facilities, such as the Porirua outdoor work training) could be adapted to train and utilise low risk inmates from the Ngawha facility.

3.2.5 The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Sustainable Farming Fund has supported catchment landcare initiatives elsewhere, including the successful Aorere project in Golden Bay, and could later support one or more initiatives for BOI agricultural catchments, provided that a 20% local share in cash could be found.

3.2.6. The Ministry for the Environment Sustainable Management Fund has also supported a range of catchment landcare initiatives elsewhere, including the Rotorua Lakes landowner partnerships project, Pauatahanui Inlet catchment landcare, and more recently, community based integrated catchment management promotion for Tauranga Harbour and the Waihou River catchment.

3.2.7. The NRC Environment Fund of $500,000 pa has supported catchment and biodiversity protection projects and could contribute to small-scale BOI initiatives.

3.2.8. The Oceans Survey 20/20 programme currently in the BOI will provide new data on sediment, nutrient and other contaminant outputs from catchments, and may include sufficient “isotopic fingerprinting” of new sediments to be able to target their specific sources in catchments.

3.2.9. The visiting yachting community is seasonal in the BOI but has been calculated to contribute $10 million/year to the BOI economy. Some of the values that attract them to BOI are at risk from contamination, so it may be possible to motivate them to contribute to projects that reduce those risks.

3.2.10. Existing local Landcare Groups in the catchment have built good foundations that could be extended; Fonterra initiatives have further potential to mitigate serious compliance problems, through the use of larger carrots and sticks; Primary Sector Water Partnership have a good action plan for farming and forestry but no committed resources at this stage.

3.2 Future Trends and Events

3.2.1. Long awaited Treaty Settlements for the iwi of Northland, and BOI in particular, may provide additional resourcing, land, kaitiaki roles and other opportunities to participate in initiatives to restore the mauri of BOI waters and heal the whenua in BOI catchments, while developing the people and investing in their futures.

3.2.2. Rapid and increasing growth in the use of high value manuka honey for medical and culinary uses may make economical in Northland as well as East Cape, the conversion of marginal or stressed farmland to manuka forest. This could also create regional opportunities for processing.

3.2.3. Growth in demand for certified-sustainable timbers that are durable, but not chemically treated, may enhance opportunities for development of totara woodlots, especially on Maori land which may have longer time horizons for sustainability.

3.2.4. Growth in demand for sustainably produced biomass for biofuel production may generate opportunities for developing harvestable plantations of coppicing eucalypts on steeplands and effluent-irrigated sites, providing that economies of scale can be achieved.

3.2.5. The Annual Conference of the New Zealand Association of Resource Managers (NZARM) is to be held in Waitangi in November 2009, and may catalyse informed analysis of catchment protection opportunities.

4. Review of Problems and Opportunities  to come

5. Possible Elements of a Staged Response to Issues

The elements and sequencing of a strategic response depends upon

• which sets of “issues” the BOI “catchment community” agrees to address,
• which measurable environmental outcomes for BOI waters and lands that the wider community agrees to pursue, and
• what rate of progress towards those outcomes that the wider community decides to resource.

Until there is broad agreement about the measurable environmental outcomes to be pursued (ie how much, where and by when), it is not practicable to evaluate and develop a community-based strategic plan for rehabilitating BOI catchment functioning to the extent that aquatic environments are protected and restored.  This is because, in the absence of such “smart” objectives, we cannot objectively assess how much of each particular tool should be applied in each location to adequately resolve each of the issues we agreed to address.

However, while researchers are refining our scientific understanding and communities are negotiating the measurable outcomes to be pursued, we can still make progress on the agreed issues through a staged programme of tactical responses to local problems and opportunities.  The information obtained from monitoring the effectiveness of these initial responses, and the increased community understanding and support engendered, will help with the refinement of a scientifically robust strategic plan.  The potential components, or elements, of both an initial tactical response and a later more prioritised and staged strategic plan, are summarised in the following sections 5.1 and 5.2.

5.1 Technical elements

These include physical structures and activities with potential to address some of the issues for BOI catchments and water quality. They would normally be provided for within the planning frameworks and funding mechanisms discussed later

5.1.1. Riparian retirement, and possible planting, for river sections where riparian vegetation would either trap overland flow of sediment and/or sequester P nutrients or denitrify N rich groundwater flows. (and also potential to mitigate some instream erosion of banks and to enhance trapping of sediment on floodplains)

5.1.2. Retirement of steeplands with erosion risks, and possible planting to stabilise soils

5.1.3. Active management of streambank erosion through plantings and other reinforcement works, together with

5.1.4. Reducing flood peaks through land-use change, detention structures and wetlands

5.1.5. Irrigating nutrient-rich effluent from Moerewa and Kawakawa treatment plants to suitable lands with high value crops including woodlots with coppicing eucalypts.

5.1.6. Upgrading other treatment plants to reduce nutrient discharges as well as the microbial reductions currently emphasised.

5.1.7. Wider adoption of programmes designed to make more efficient and less wasteful use of nutrients in farming, including Overseer and the initiatives of Fonterra, Dairy NZ and the Primary Sector Water Partnership.

5.2 Organisational and policy elements

These include the institutional roles and relationships, the planning frameworks and the ways in which goals are agreed, responsibilities are assigned, projects are arranged

5.2.1. Evaluate the effectiveness and costs of catchment management approaches pursued in a range of different areas where environmental results are measureable, including Raglan/Whaingaroa, Rotorua Lakes, Lake Taupo, Pauatahanui Inlet, Aorere catchment.

5.2.2. Determine which structural elements might be most effective and affordable in addressing the issues and pursuing the environmental outcomes agreed for the BOI.

5.2.3. These might include multi-party strategies (eg Rotorua Lakes), individual catchment action plans (eg Rotorua Lakes),

5.2.4. Evaluate the potential application of planning tools, programme frameworks and funding mechanisms that are already provided for in approved RMA Policy Statements and Plans and the LTCCPs of Councils and the strategies of other institutions.

5.2.5. These might include the “environmental property plans (policy 12.7.1)”, “sustainable catchment plans by landcare groups (policy 12.8.3)”, or “regional catchment management plans by NRC (policy 13.4.1)” of the Regional Water and Soil Plan for Northland 2004.

5.3 Priorities for an initial staged tactical response.

There appears to be a limited awareness of the scale of catchment problems and the range of opportunities to address these amongst the landowners and managers of BOI land resources. Hence there would be benefit in developing a constituency of informed and concerned land managers who are committed to leadership and contributions to cost-effective and equitable responses in the catchments.

Rapid increases in the scientific understanding of sustainable land-use requirements and waterbody/climate change consequences means that technical advisory services and support for farmers and foresters has become increasingly complex, controversial and costly. There is debate about whether such services are most cost-effectively delivered by statutory agencies, commercial consultants or community based NGOs.

Enhanced support services for retirement fencing (riparian, wetland and steepland) and planting materials (native, harvestable and soil conserving) could be developed by a range of different public and private initiatives. Further debate is needed about the cost-effectiveness and equity of different options.

The wider community of affected or concerned citizens, beyond the catchment landowners and managers, has signalled a variety of interests in contributing to rehabilitation initiatives ranging from streamside retirement planting through to monitoring stream and estuarine ecosystem responses (eg with the NIWA Schmak Kits or Ngati Hine’s planned Coastal Cultural Health Index)

There are existing community-based “clusters of interest” (such as the Rawhiti Initiative, Waimate North and Russell Landcare, and Ngati Hine’s initiatives in the Taumarere/Kawakawa catchment), and these have potential to develop into networked contributions to an overall strategy to rehabilitate the catchments of the BOI to the extent that aquatic habitats are protected and restored to be fully functioning.

6.  Suggested steps forward.

The paper concludes with some suggested first steps towards an initial tactical response to the issues, while concurrently developing a more strategic approach to achieving measurable environmental outcomes for BOI waters and catchments that the community agrees to pursue.

6.1 Build on existing environmental rehabilitation initiatives

6.1.1. The Rawhiti Initiative started with the goal of biodiversity restoration in the eastern BOI and Cape Brett, extended into comprehensive pest control and reforestation, and now appreciates the need to extend further into the active rehabilitation of local catchments and estuarine environments.

6.1.2. The Ngati Hine Initiative in the Taumarere/Kawakawa catchment has included fencing and planting, and has recently been funded to include the development of a Coastal Cultural Health Index for monitoring estuarine condition.

6.1.3. There are several local Landcare groups in the catchment which started with relatively specific objectives which have subsequently broadened. The include the Waimate North group which had an initial emphasis on pest control to protect existing and reforested bush remnants, and the Russell Landcare Trust which was established to protect and enhance habitat for wildlife, especially kiwi and weka, and which has extended into replanting with native vegetation gullies and water margins on the Russell Peninsular.

6.1.4. Funding for extending such initiatives could come from a variety of sources, including those previously used, such as the NRC Environment Fund and the Ministry for Environment Sustainable Management Fund.

6.2 Develop and promote best-practice farm and forestry examples.

The development and promotion of a cluster of demonstration farms and forest management best-practice examples in the BOI is probably an essential first step in building support for more sustainable land management practices in local catchments.

Given the constraints of major funding source criteria for local cash contributions, it seems only practical, at this stage, to consider the Sustainable Management Fund and design one or more modest proposals within its criteria. Such proposals would need to be based initially on properties committed to developing leadership and sharing experiences with the wider land management community.

At this stage none of the potential candidate properties are within the priority catchments for rehabilitation (eg Kawakawa, Kerikeri, Waipapa), but the importance of rapidly establishing and promoting best-practices in sustainable catchment land-use management in the BOI probably outweighs the risks of committing resources and attention to localities where the downstream benefits are relatively minor.

Helen Moodie of New Zealand Landcare Trust will discuss a proposal to apply for a SMF grant for a project on the Waitangi catchment based on developing a dairy farm demonstrator and providing landcare sustainability support services to other farmers within the catchment.  There may be other potential best-practice properties that can be developed and promoted (eg Purerua LandCorp).

6.3 Develop Strategic Planning foundations

6.3.1. Analyse and interpret the new research findings from OS 20/20 in late 2009

6.3.2. Negotiate enhancement of NRC investigation, advisory and support services

6.3.3. Develop framework for community negotiation of agreed environmental outcomes or targets for BOI waters and habitats (cf Taupo, Rotorua Lakes)

6.3.4. Develop science-based strategic plan for prioritised action on critical catchments

6.3.5.Application to Sustainable Farming Fund for project to improve sustainability of farming and forestry in BOI catchments to safeguard aquatic environments