Biodiversity awareness among landowners on the rise
North Canterbury regional councillor, Ross Little, has welcomed the results of a recent survey among rural landowners in
Canterbury, indicating that they were becoming more and more aware of the importance of biodiversity.
The survey, commissioned by Environment Canterbury, found that 90 percent of all respondents felt that the protection of
biodiversity was important, with almost 60 percent having taken some action to improve or protect biodiversity values on
their properties and 83 percent planning to do so in future.
Cr Little, Environment Canterbury’s Land Portfolio chair, says surveys done in the past few months by other
organisations corroborated the ECan survey. “In a few years, scrub has become indigenous vegetation, bogs and swamps are
now wetlands, and river banks are riparian margins! These results show how radically attitudes have changed - not too
long ago, government gave incentives to farmers to "develop marginal lands", including native vegetation and wetlands.
New Zealand has a unique range of plants, animals, and other species, and we must all play a role in looking after
them,” says Cr Little.
He points out that almost half the people surveyed rated ‘a personal responsibility to leave the earth in good shape for
future generations’ as the main reason for the importance of protecting biodiversity. “We all value the pleasant
features of the place we live. Farming families are particularly attached to the place they live, as their lives are
physically entwined with the environment around them. Farmers also have much of our biodiversity on their land. I am
delighted therefore with the results of the Environment Canterbury survey, which reveals a high appreciation of
biodiversity values on Canterbury farms.”
Cr Little says the survey showed that most farmers believed their properties contained some biodiversity values and had
undertaken action to maintain or improve it. Of those who believed they had biodiversity areas on their farms, weed and
pest control, which benefits biodiversity values, was the most widely applied. In addition, 45 percent of those surveyed
had fenced or planted wetlands, 55 percent protected streamsides and 26 percent bushland. “As land portfolio chair, I
have tried for some years to advance a survey like this, as I believe demonstrating how widespread these values have
become, and the actions being taken, must surely encourage others.”
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