Thursday, March 28, 2024

It’s not just farmers

Neal Wallace
The country’s senior scientist has called for a more mature conversation on solving water quality issues and an end to the polarised positions that have characterised the debate so far.
Reading Time: 3 minutes

Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, the Prime Minister’s chief science adviser, said to have the pristine environment we all desired would not be achieved without having a conversation “where people are not threatened but will come together and discuss solutions”.

“Where we have gone is groups with extreme positions and people are not listening to each other.”

The Government’s proposed new fresh water standards were an example where groups reacted negatively before understanding the detail.

Gluckman was commenting on his report, New Zealand’s fresh waters, values, state, trends and human impacts, which concluded the quality of freshwater resources was variable with some close to tipping point.

“Some water bodies are in a good state but others have been significantly compromised by agricultural intensification, urban expansion and industrial pollution, hydroelectric development or the effects of drought.”

Gluckman intentionally wanted to tell New Zealanders water quality was not just a farming issue.

“There are so many aspects.

“It is more complex than saying there are too many cows on the land.”

Gluckman predicted farming in 30 to 50 years would be more diverse with extensive use of precision agricultural technology to manage the use of land, fertiliser, herbicides and water.

He also expected the growing of more high-value crops and more forestry.

Technology derived from what he called “the son of genetic modification” or life sciences would be used to produce high-quality, low-input produce.

Farmers embraced technology and understood they had impacted on the environment but he was confident that, given the tools, they would continue changing their practices.

“We can see farmers changing their practices in ways to improve the environment with riparian planting and fencing. They have spent a lot of money.”

The report warned the clarity and E. coli concentrations in some waterways had improved but others were degraded.

Phosphorus and ammonia levels in urban and rural waterways had also improved but the reverse was true for nitrate and total nitrogen.

Theoretically, improved water quality and economic growth were not mutually exclusive but improvements required change which would cost and take decades to achieve.

“No single strategy will be enough.

“Major changes will be needed in some sectors of the economy and in planning and consent activity.

“These changes will be neither instantaneous nor cost-free.”

Gluckman noted there was no single measurement of water quality, which had created confusion with proposed new water standards.

“Water monitoring in NZ is imperfect, with sampling site distribution not fully representative of the environmental variation that occurs, sub-optimal site density in places and variable quality of sampling and analysis protocols.”

Federated Farmers environment spokesman Chris Allen welcomed the report as confirmation that while agriculture was part of the problem, it was not alone.

“Where there are problems all sectors of society, including farmers, are culpable and all sectors of society need to be part of the solutions.”

Allen did not believe it was case of choosing between production or water quality.

“I am convinced we can continue to produce food and agricultural exports while reducing our environmental footprint.”

Water’s many threats 

Fresh water is under pressure from:

• Agriculture – surface run-off depositing nitrogen, phosphate and sediment into streams; faecal contamination from livestock access to waterways; irrigation pressures;

• Hydropower – water diversion and changing flow regimes; barriers to fish migration;

• Urban development – pollution from urban storm water and industrial sources;

• Pest invasions – altering ecological processes and displacing native species and;

• Climate change – impacts on flow regimes, groundwater levels, water temperatures, biotic invasions and consequences for freshwater ecosystems.

Source: Office of the Prime Minister’s Chief Science adviser Professor Sir Peter Gluckman’s report, NZ’s fresh waters, values, state, trends and human impacts.

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