22 March 2007 - Wellington

NZ farmers score a C-minus for environmental practices

Dairy farmers have a long way to go on cleaning up our waterways, the progress report on the Dairying and Clean Streams Accord shows.

The “snapshot of progress” report, released today – World Day for Water – shows that too many dairy farmers are not meeting most of the Accord’s targets and are continuing to seriously degrade waterways, Forest & Bird Advocacy Manager Kevin Hackwell says.

“When the Accord was signed in 2003, the target was set for 100% immediate compliance by dairy farm effluent discharges with consents, but four years on a third of dairy farms still do not comply. That is nowhere near good enough.”

“We still have serious pollution of our lowland rivers, in large part caused by farmers continuing to break the law. It is a real worry that in three of our major dairying regions – Waikato, Canterbury and Southland – the majority of farms are not in compliance, including a significant proportion which are in serious breach.”

Kevin Hackwell says the fact that the Accord has failed to reach so many of its own goals indicates that voluntary measures on their own are not enough, and that tougher action is required.

“Regional councils must act to fulfil their legal obligation to enforce the law, and Minister for the Environment David Benson-Pope should ensure that they do so. Fonterra must also take greater responsibility to ensure that its suppliers comply with environmental requirements.”

Despite some progress towards some goals, poorly performing farmers are still letting down their more responsible counterparts, Kevin Hackwell says.

“If New Zealand is serious about maintaining its environmentally friendly image in export markets, it must clean up its act on dairy farms, or face a backlash from overseas consumers who are increasingly demanding that products are genuinely clean and green.”

The full report is available at www.mfe.govt.nz

ENDS

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