15 December 2004
Crunch time for New Zealand's rivers
Four long established environmental and outdoor recreational organisations have joined together to fight to save New
Zealand's rivers from the growing threats caused by irrigation, hydroelectric schemes, pollution, and increasing
limitations on public access.
"This is crunch time for New Zealand's rivers. Our rivers are polluted. There is also enormous pressure to dam, divert
and suck water from our rivers. Worst of all, proposed changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) will make it harder
for communities to protect their rivers," said Forest and Bird's Conservation Manager Kevin Hackwell.
Today in Hamilton, by the banks of the polluted Waikato River, representatives of Fish & Game New Zealand, the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society, Federated Mountain Clubs and the New Zealand
Recreational Canoeing Association launched the new "Living Rivers" coalition.
Last year's Annual Report by government chief executives on the implementation of the Biodiversity Strategy warned that:
"At the current level of effort, and with existing knowledge, the rate of decline [of freshwater species] is likely to
increase over time, with a resulting loss of species from some locations and extinctions of some species (pg 45)."
"Sadly there is no evidence that the Ministry for the Environment or Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry consider
extinction an important issue for sustainable development in New Zealand. Nowhere in their joint discussion document on
the Government's water programme of action did officials mention the risk that native freshwater species may go
extinct," he said.
"There's nothing in the report about braided rivers, or the threatened fish species and birds that live in them. Instead
the ministries were concerned that 'setting environmental bottom-lines is costly and contentious', and the 'development
of water infrastructure is not keeping pace with demand'," he said.
"We are also seeing changes to the RMA that will make it easier for the developers to force new hydroelectric and
irrigation schemes onto unwilling communities who want their local rivers protected," he said.
"Regional councils will be required to promote infrastructure and all local authorities will have new powers to strike
out submissions from submitters they don't like," he said.
"Central government will have new powers that include a National Development Act style of fast-track decision making
process for major projects and wide powers for the Minister for the Environment to write edicts to interfere in local
government," he said.
ENDS