Friday, March 29, 2024

Land values, farming must co-exist

Avatar photo
The South Island high country has real challenges ahead, Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage told farmers at a high country field day in the Ashburton Lakes area.
Reading Time: 2 minutes

“Here in the high country, particularly in the Ashburton Lakes region, it’s very easy to see the land form and the expansion of the landscape.

“Those who farm and make a living here have their challenges but they are extraordinarily lucky to look at these vistas and this enormous space – nature is bigger than anything,” Sage said.

But she said human pressure on the land is taking a toll and there is urgent need for New Zealand as a nation to lift its game to look after indigenous landscapes and the plants and wildlife in them.

“The Ashburton Lakes high country has been a well-kept secret until recently and now more and more people are coming to enjoy it so there are real challenges on how this high country is managed in the future.”

Sage said there are about 4000 species at risk of extinction in NZ’s high country.

“Unless we do better we’ll see some species extinct in our lifetime.”

She likened the Ashburton Lakes to the McKenzie Basin – everyone working together, central and local government, farmers and recreationalists.

“But that has failed to deliver.

“Intensification has continued and that deeply troubles me.”

Sage assured farmers there is a strong future for pastoralism in the high country.

“But it shouldn’t be at the expense of destroying the environment.”

Wearing her hat as the Minister for Land Information responsible for Crown Land Sage said more work is needed on pastoral leases.

Ecological sustainability is supposed to be given priority in the legislation that covers pastoral leases but she questioned whether that is happening. 

“We have to look at how we can integrate indigenous land values with farming work.

“So, I am looking at the future of tenure review and the discretionary consent framework making sure we have got a resilient future for farming and integrating indigenous value with farming systems is where we are driven.

“It’s absolutely not all the fault of farmers but we need to look at it as a collaborative responsibility.

“Is there a need for change in high country farming – I think there is,” Sage said.

Of the 303 pastoral leases, 125 had completed tenure review, the Crown had bought a further five and of the remaining 173, 40 were in the process of tenure review. 

Tinkering with concessionary rental was of real concern, high country farmer Ben Todhunter said.

“Property ownership is what makes a high country farmer resilient.

“Messing around with concessionary rental is a fast way to have farmers lose confidence.” Todhunter said.

Farmers need drivers to help ensure they can continue to farm profitability and there is no question about farmers’ ability to farm while at the same time protecting indigenous biodiversity.

“We all have responsibility and farmers no less or no more than anyone else but we do need the confidence.” 

Sage expressed concern about the exploding tahr population as an example of underinvestment in the control of some feral species.

There are an estimated 35,000 tahr living in the central Southern Alps when for the sake of the natural environmental that number should not go beyond 10,000.

“This needs urgent attention. Just because alpine areas are out of sight they should not be out of mind.

“We can’t make the high country the Plains but we do have to all work together,” Sage said.

Total
0
Shares
People are also reading