Kaikōura Zone Committee focuses on local biodiversity and water management planning

The Kaikōura Zone Committee will meet for its regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, 30 September to discuss local water management issues.

The meeting will begin with an opportunity for community members to contribute, before it goes on to receive updates from its Nutrient Management and Water Efficiency, Clarence/Waiau-toa, and Love the Lyell / Waikōau working groups.

The committee will then receive a presentation from Environment Canterbury on its 2015 CWMS Targets Report. The targets are an agreed way to measure progress of how the community’s aspirations for water management are being delivered across the region.

Following this, the committee will receive an update on the sub-regional planning for the zone, which will begin in 2018. The committee will begin working with the community next year to develop recommendations which will form the basis of a sub-regional chapter for the Kaikōura Zone in the Land and Water Regional Plan (LWRP).

The LWRP aims to provide clear direction on how land and water are to be managed and help deliver community aspirations for water quality in both urban and rural areas. Most of the LWRP was made operative on 1 September 2015, with some parts still subject to appeal.

Next, the committee will be briefed on the Waimangarara River Reserve restoration project which has involved trapping/poisoning predators, weed killing, inter-planting with native plants, and encouraging university bird studies.

The zone committee will consider the project for Immediate Steps funding, which aims to protect ecosystems and habitats to conserve indigenous freshwater diversity. Zone committees decide the priorities for each zone and distribute the funding, which also requires a third party contribution.

There is still plenty of funding available to allocate to local biodiversity projects so if you think you have a project that could benefit from funding search Immediate Steps at www.ecan.govt.nz .

The committee will finish the meeting with a briefing on the Canterbury Matrix of Good Management Project which aims to provide good information on the nutrient losses from different land uses under good management practices.

The Kaikōura Zone Water Committee was launched in mid-2011 to address local water issues and deliver the goals of the Canterbury Water Management Strategy (CWMS). The committee is currently seeking new community members to join the committee as part of a region-wide process to ensure new perspectives are reflected. See www.ecan.govt.nz/canterbury water for more.

Committee meeting details

Kaikōura Zone Committee meeting

12:30pm, Wednesday 30 September

Memorial Hall Supper Room, Esplanade, Kaikōura

For an agenda see the Kaikōura Zone Committee page at www.ecan.govt.nz/canterburywater.

ENDS

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