increase font size
Environment Canterbury commissioners have agreed to notify the proposed Canterbury land and water regional plan (LWRP). The commissioners also resolved to revoke certain parts of the natural resources regional plan and the land and vegetation regional management plan when the proposed LWRP is made operative.
"We believe the Land and Water Regional Plan addresses certain key requirements set out in the Ministerial Terms of Reference," says Environment Canterbury commissioner Peter Skelton.
"These include having a simple and robust regional planning framework for water, a plan that is easy to understand and administer and one that reduces the number of resource consents required.
"It's also important that the LWRP allows for the implementation of the Canterbury Water Management Strategy. To achieve this we've heavily involved the CWMS Regional and Zone Committees in the development phase."
Input from other stakeholders such as Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, along with a rūnanga working group established through the Tuia programme, has also been a priority over the past year.
Skelton adds that draft versions of the LWRP have been publicly available and it has produced substantial informal comment which was then considered and, where appropriate, incorporated into the LWRP.
"Now that we've agreed it should happen, notification of the proposed LWRP will happen on 11 August. This will lead onto a submission period where people can formally have their say."
Once notification is completed, all the rules within the LWRP will have immediate legal effect.
Two high producing Canterbury dairy farmers are moving to blended stockfeed supplements fed in-shed for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to boost protein levels, which they can’t achieve through pasture under the region’s nitrogen limit of 190kg/ha.
Rare Canterbury mudfish and tadpole shrimp have been discovered at an environmental restoration site at Bennetts Stream in North Canterbury which is part of a biodiversity initiative being carried out by Waimakariri Irrigation Limited (WIL).
Synlait is hoping that its proposed recapitalisation plan will help retain its spooked farmer supplier base.
The new chair of the Canterbury A&P Association (CAPA) board, Sir David Carter, is pleading for public support for this year's Christchurch Show.
The Lincoln University Demonstration Dairy Farm (LUDF) is crediting a raft of improved management practises in achieving a big turnaround in empty rates.
Recent rain has offered respite for some from the ongoing drought.
New Zealand's TBfree programme has made great progress in reducing the impact of the disease on livestock herds, but there’s still a long way to go, according to Beef+Lamb NZ.
With much of the North Island experiencing drought this summer and climate change projected to bring drier and hotter conditions, securing New Zealand’s freshwater resilience is vital, according to state-owned GNS Science.
OPINION: Otago farmer and NZ First MP Mark Patterson is humble about the role that he’s played in mandating government agencies to use wool wherever possible in new and refurbished buildings.
For Wonky Box co-founder Angus Simms, the decision to open the service to those in rural areas is a personal one.
The golden age of orcharding in West Auckland was recently celebrated at the launch of a book which tells the story of its rise, then retreat in the face of industry change and urban expansion.
OPINION: The appendage swinging contest between the US and China continues, with China hitting back with a new rate of…
OPINION: The irony of President Trump’s tariff obsession is that the worst damage may be done to his own people.
