Green report hails progress

BY KIRSTY JOHNSTON

Water, waste and biodiversity are the three major environmental challenges facing Taranaki, according to a major new report.

Launched by Minister for the Environment Nick Smith in New Plymouth yesterday, the State of the Environment report shows that although Taranaki is making steady progress towards becoming sustainable, it still has a long way to go.

The third five-yearly report was put together by the Taranaki Regional Council, which was pleased with its "report card".

Council chairman David MacLeod said the report was especially valuable because the monitoring programmes had now been running long enough to paint a clear picture.

"This progress can be a source of pride for the whole community. It reflects not just the council's efforts, but those of a wide range of organisations, businesses and community groups making a contribution," he said.

One of the strongest points made in the report was the need for continual improvement and work on freshwater streams and rivers.

Nutrient levels in the waterways, especially those of phosphate and nitrogen, were still higher than desirable, especially in the streams' lower reaches.

Regional council chief executive Basil Chamberlain said the high nutrient levels were not good news for aquatic habitats.

"Nutrients in streams are all about aquatic eco-systems nutrients can lead to the growth of algal material and can impact upon aquatic life," he said.

But it was important to note that so far, the nutrient levels were not affecting the communities of invertebrates that lived in the streams, Mr Chamberlain said.

A proportion of the high nutrient levels was due to land use such as intensive dairy farming and fertiliser use, and was being dealt with by way of plans such as riparian planting, he said.

After mistakenly introducing the report as being from Waikato, Mr Smith commended the council for its work.

"It's really important if we're going to get on top to be honest in areas where we are underperforming," he said.

"Taranaki deserves a big tick but they still have work to do. The key is good science and pragmatic policies like riparian planting plans.

"But now they need to translate those plans into action."

Mr Smith highlighted biodiversity as the most complex and difficult challenge New Zealand has to face in the future.

"It is an area where we are environmentally not in great shape. In every international survey the area where New Zealand ranks in the very bottom is the number of species that sit on the brink of extinction."

Taranaki Regional Council acknowledged openly the areas where there was definite room for improvement.

"We're going to work hard on the nutrient issue, waste management and biodiversity," Mr Chamberlain said.

"But generally things are stable or going forward, there are no environments showing a decline."

Mr Chamberlain estimated $216.7 million had been spent on environmental management in the past five years two and a half times that of the previous five years.

WHAT STATE ARE WE IN?

Air quality and coastal water quality both "excellent" .

Improvements in air emissions from major industries have continued over the past five years.

Forty animal species were listed as threatened in the region, including the katipo spider, the striped skink and the black petrel.

There was 20 per cent more waste being produced than in 1996, but it was now being dealt with at a single landfill rather than the 20 in use 15 years ago.

Water quality in Taranaki was generally good.

- © Fairfax NZ News