$7.4M Funding for Erosion Control

Forestry Minister Shane Jones has today welcomed $7.4 million in erosion control funding for Gisborne district landowners.

The money comes from the latest funding round of the Ministry for Primary Industries’ Erosion Control Funding Programme and will benefit 32 properties.

“Gisborne has the worst eroding land in the country because of poor soil quality and the increasing frequency of adverse weather events,” Mr Jones says.

“Twenty-six per cent of the district’s land is susceptible to severe erosion, compared to 8 per cent of land around the rest of the country.

“The funding will allow landowners to plant trees or retire land to regenerate native bush in order to return the land to a productive and sustainable state.

“Under the erosion programme, 42,000 hectares of land in Gisborne has been remediated so far and, with this latest funding round, a further 4,893 hectares will be remediated.

“Soil erosion costs New Zealand about $100-$200 million every year through loss of productive capacity and damage to infrastructure and waterways.

“This Government has committed to seeing 1 billion trees over the next 10 years, which – among other benefits – will help enormously with the issue of eroding land,” Mr Jones says.

Since 1992, when the fund was established, $49 million has been provided to the Gisborne district.

ENDS

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