12 December 2014

Waimakariri Zone Committee appoints two community members

Judith Roper-Lindsay has been appointed to the Waimakariri Zone Committee as part of a process to ensure a wide range of views are reflected.

Judith has lived and farmed in the Ashley district for more than 30 years and now farms 20 acres. As an ecologist she has an interest in biodiversity and land-water management and has been involved in Environment Court mediation and community consultation projects (more information is below).

Claire McKay has been reappointed to the committee for three years. Claire is a veterinarian who has a 282ha dairy farm on irrigated land in Cust and has been chair of the zone committee for more than a year.

Waimakariri is one of 10 water management committees set up in 2010 and 2011 as part of the collaborative Canterbury Water Management Strategy (CWMS) to develop community-led recommendations to provide sustainable benefits from our water resource.

The Waimakariri Zone Committee is a joint committee of Environment Canterbury and the Waimakariri District Council. Each of Canterbury’s ten zone committees has four to seven community members, an Environment Canterbury Commissioner, Councillors from the relevant district Council, and representatives from Ngāi Tahu Rūnanga.

The other community members on the Waimakariri Zone Committee are Grant Edge, David Ashby and Bryan Sulzberger. The committee also includes representatives from council and local Rūnanga. Biographies for zone committee members can be found on the Waimakariri page at www.ecan.govt.nz/canterburywater .

Christina Robb, Programme Manager CWMS, said the selection process focussed on finding people who can see others’ points of views and work collaboratively to find solutions for water issues.

“The CWMS is an innovative approach to managing fresh water. It’s about finding the best ways to restore our environment and provide for viable farming and communities throughout the region.

“We are pleased with the quality of the applicants and we’re sure the committee has a good balance of community representatives who are passionate about making a positive difference to local water management.

“Each of Canterbury’s ten zone committees is focused on local actions to deliver the gains envisaged by the CWMS. This includes encouraging good management practices from all land users, working to improve biodiversity and ecosystems, improving urban stormwater quality and the reliability of water for irrigation, and making sure there is a safe supply of water for local communities,” she said.

During the past year the Waimakariri Zone Committee has been particularly focussed on raising awareness in the community of the need to improve their systems and practices to ensure they are farming in an environmentally responsible manner.

The committee’s upcoming focus is now on engaging with the community prior to sub-regional planning in the zone which will begin in mid-2016. The committee has already started talking with local people about the issues in the zone so it has a good understanding of both urban and rural aspirations.

There are six water management committees refreshing their membership this year. The remaining committees were exempt from the process as they either had recent community membership changes or are undertaking the process early next year.

Dr Judith Roper-Lindsay
Judith has lived in Ashley for more than 30 years and now farms 20 acres on the downlands. As an ecologist she has an interest in biodiversity and land-water management and has been involved in Environment Court mediation and community consultation projects.

As an ecologist she has worked as part of multi-disciplinary teams on a range of challenging projects including hydro-electric power generation and irrigation projects where an understanding of engineering and hydrological construction and operation was essential in order to integrate biodiversity management.

Judith is a founding member, and inaugural Chair, of Greening the Rubble Trust that formed after the September 2010 earthquakes, a former member of the NZ Conservation Authority, and is a volunteer mentor for Big Brother Big Sister North Canterbury, and the Garden to Table programme.

ENDS

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