The New Zealand Conservation Authority November 2011 Protecting New Zealand’s Rivers 2 This report may be cited as: New Zealand Conservation Authority. 2011: Protecting New Zealand’s Rivers. New Zealand Conservation Authority, Wellington. 68 Pages November 2011 ISBN: 978-0-478-14918-0 Photo: Tawhai Falls, Waikato River. Crown Copyright: Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai, Photographer: Helen Mitchell. 3 Foreword Rivers have special intrinsic values This discussion paper is the NZCA’s that are being incrementally lost. advice to the Minister of Conservation The New Zealand Conservation and is designed to generate public Authority (NZCA) believes action discussion on the future of New should be taken to reverse this trend. Zealand’s rivers. Existing statutory agencies have a The NZCA can be contacted at range of tools available to better [email protected] or: protect rivers. Some of these tools New Zealand Conservation Authority would be more effective if they were PO Box 10 420 refined, and there was greater national Wellington 6143 direction for their implementation. Protecting New Zealand’s Rivers 01 Foreword Contents Executive summary 03 - Context 03 - What is the problem? 03 - What is needed? 04 01 Introduction 05 02 State of our rivers 07 - Overview of New Zealand rivers 07 - DOC statutory advocacy 09 - River physical processes 10 and functioning - Water quantity (flows) 11 - Water quality 11 - Indigenous freshwater 12 biodiversity - Societal values 13 - Māori values 13 - Recreation 14 - Hydro-electricity 14 generation and irrigation - History of river protection 15 - NZCA conclusions 15 03 Protecting rivers using 17 conservation legislation - Conservation legislation 17 - National Parks Act 1980 18 - Reserves Act 1977 18 - Conservation Act 1987 18 - Freshwater Fisheries 19 Regulations 1983 - River-specific legislation 19 - Protection and management 19 of Crown riverbeds - Protection of land 20 alongside rivers - NZCA conclusions 20 Protecting New Zealand’s Rivers 02 04 Water conservation 21 - National policy statements 37 Appendix 1: Freshwater 50 orders - Maintaining indigenous 37 management bodies and - History of WCOs 22 biodiversity their responsibilities - Purpose of WCOs 23 - National environmental 38 Appendix 2: Statutory 52 - “Natural state” 24 standards mechanisms for protecting rivers - “Outstanding” 24 - Regional plans as a 39 protection tool - Statutory effects of a WCO 25 Appendix 3: Water 58 - Protecting water quality 40 conservation orders: - Process for initiating a 25 relevant sections from WCO (outside Canterbury) - RMA co-ordination with 40 conservation legislation the Resource Management - Revocation of or 26 Act 1991 amendments to WCOs - Methods for assessing 40 (outside Canterbury) the values of rivers Appendix 4: process for 59 water conservation orders - WCOs in Canterbury 26 - Collaborative processes 41 (outside Canterbury) - NZCA conclusions 27 - NZCA conclusions 41 Appendix 5: Water 60 05 The use and 29 07 Enhancing river 43 conservation orders effectiveness of WCOs protection NZCA (as at April 2011) - Protection of representative 30 recommendations Appendix 6: New Zealand 66 habitats and ecosystems - Protect outstanding rivers 43 Conservation Authority - Past protection initiatives 30 - Establish a network of 43 freshwater principles - Identifying outstanding rivers 31 protected rivers - Enhancing regional planning 31 - Ensure water management 43 properly reflects the - Funding and cost of the 32 conservation status of application process conservation land and - Length and robustness 33 the rivers within it of process - Indigenous biodiversity 44 - Permanency of protection 33 - Protect Crown riverbeds 44 - Enhancement of outstanding 34 - Mechanisms in 44 characteristics cannot be conservation legislation considered - Retain WCOs and improve 45 - Land use and water quality 34 their use - NZCA conclusions 34 - Improve river management 45 under the RMA 06 Other RMA tools for 35 river protection and Glossary 47 their efficacy References 48 - Sustainable management 35 Appendices 50 includes “protection” of natural and physical resources 03 Context energy continues to grow, which means more rivers could be modified Executive New Zealand is strongly influenced to enable hydro-electricity, whether by rivers. They are central to the by damming or by diverting water identity of many New Zealanders and out of a river. The Government aims summary are highly valued for their scenic to have 90 per cent of our electricity and recreational qualities, as well generation sourced from renewable as their economic potential. sources by 2025. New Zealand has many rivers, great Water quality in major rivers has and small, and an apparent abundance declined since 1989, largely attributable of fresh water is conveyed by them to increased agricultural intensification, from the mountains to the sea. Our and the development of farming that is freshwater biodiversity is unique; dependent on a reliable supply of water 92 per cent of our freshwater fish in naturally dry areas. species are endemic to New Zealand. Declining flows and water quality Rivers are inherently difficult to can adversely affect river health manage owing to their dynamic and biodiversity values. Some rivers character, length, size of catchment and streams are now unsuitable and diversity of values, as well as for fishing and swimming, and as the many agencies involved in land, a source of mahinga kai (food). water and fisheries management. Important values and interests in The Resource Management Act fresh water are not being adequately 1991 (RMA) provides the primary protected in National Policy legislative mechanism for the Statements and regional plans, management of rivers and the water despite recent calls for this to happen; within them. Water conservation particularly from the Land and Water orders (WCOs) are the major RMA Forum (2010). Examples of these tool for river protection. values and interests are the natural Rivers within public conservation land character of rivers, recreational are perceived to be protected, but use and enjoyment, or the needs the water within them usually is not. of indigenous biodiversity and future generations. What is the problem? Retired Environment Court Judge All is not well with New Zealand’s David Sheppard summed up the rivers and there is increasing public situation as follows: concern about their state. “Freshwater is being managed National demand for fresh water in in many valuable ways to enable New Zealand almost doubled in the people and communities to provide decade between 2000 and 2010, for for their social, economic and uses such as irrigation, domestic water cultural wellbeing and for their supply and manufacturing. Demand for health and safety. Protecting New Zealand’s Rivers 04 All is not well with New Zealand’s rivers and there is increasing public concern about their state. “But there are important respects in rivers. The set of selected rivers should characteristics (including which the management of freshwater be genuinely protected in perpetuity biodiversity, landscape, cultural, is still not conforming to the elements in their natural state and should recreational, amenity) to identify of safeguarding the life-supporting include rivers with outstanding priorities for protection capacity of water and associated ecological, landscape, scenic, q More effort to ensure that management ecosystems; is still not safeguarding recreational, amenity and cultural mechanisms, including those under the potential of freshwater resources to characteristics and values. the RMA and protected area statutes, meet future needs; and is not avoiding, The NZCA does not seek to protect adequately provide for the protection remedying or significantly remedying all rivers everywhere. The challenge is of freshwater biodiversity from the adverse effects on the environment. to provide for all interests somewhere adverse effects of activities on “There are shortfalls in the imperatives and then to respect the decisions that land and in water 2 that are classified as having national have been made and not subsequently qAmendment to the RMA 1991 to importance; in particular those of seek to negate or modify those decisions by later relitigation. allow regional councils to use preserving the natural character of moratoria (similar to those in the water bodies; of protecting significant The NZCA specifically seeks: Environment Canterbury (Improved indigenous vegetation and significant q Government commitment to the Water Management and Temporary habitats of indigenous fauna; and of protection of rivers Commissioners) Act 2010) to pause providing for Māori traditional cultural consent applications while a river’s relationship with their ancestral q Specific responsibility and resourcing in-stream values are assessed, water and taonga (things or places for achieving such protection allocated flow regimes developed or reviewed, of great value). to one government agency and plans amended; and for water “Although there have been many q A comprehensive, national strategic allocation limits in plans to be fixed advances, after a couple of decades approach to secure protection of qExploration of opportunities to better the management of freshwater does both outstanding rivers in their natural state and a representative protect rivers within protected areas, not yet qualify as sustainable in some including giving national park status 1 range of rivers catchments and some respects.” to rivers including their water within q A stocktake of the extent