EDS Supports Protection For Waitakere Ranges
The Environmental Defence Society has backed calls from the local community for the Waitakere Ranges Protection Project
to be put back on its original track.
EDS Senior Policy Analyst Raewyn Peart says that her work shows that there is a real need for local solutions to be
found to address the problem of iconic landscapes under pressure.
"Our work, which involved 12 months research in New Zealand and overseas, shows quite clearly that special places in New
Zealand are under massive pressure from development and that the Resource Management Act is not up to the job of
protecting those areas.
"Our case study of the Waitakere Ranges - one of five case studies we did - shows quite clearly that the pace of
subdivision has increased in recent times and there is a grave danger of the values that make the area special being
badly degraded,' says Raewyn Peart.
"We identified a local bill as one means of affording better protection for the Ranges and have included a draft bill in
our report (downloadable at http://www.eds.org.nz)
"We were disappointed at Waitakere City Council's recent decision to effectively defer a decision for 12 months. We are
concerned that the impetus could go out of the project and the favourable political environment for action could change.
"So from an EDS perspective, we would encourage Waitakere City Council to have another think about the issue given the
support evident in the wider community disclosed by this poll," Raewyn Peart concluded.