Delaying freshwater reform would be a disastrous step backwards and could be the final nail in the coffin for our rivers, lakes and wetlands New Zealand is blessed with water. Fresh water flows from our snow and glacier-clad mountains, through our farms and cities, to the sea. Rivers have deep cultural values and one, the […]
If Te Waikoropūpū Springs can’t be saved, what hope is there for New Zealand’s other aquifers? By Cherie Pascoe. You can submit to extend the protection for Te Waikoropūpū before 14 March 2018: https://action.forestandbird.org.nz/tewaikoropupu/ Nestled in the Tākaka Valley of Golden Bay, between Abel Tasman and Kahurangi National Parks, are the largest coldwater springs in the […]
The state of our environment, especially freshwater is of great concern to a wide cross section of people in New Zealand. The recently developed Freshwater Rescue Plan, supported by 16 organisations, from the public health sector to tourism and conservation, includes seven steps on how to save New Zealand’s waterways. One of the aims is […]
More than a year after Forest & Bird applied for a water conservation order to protect the natural values of the Ngaruroro River in Hawke’s Bay, the Minister for the Environment has appointed a special tribunal to consider the application. Amelia Geary writes about why the river is so important. While most rivers in the […]
It‘s hard to believe that common native species like whitebait could go extinct. Especially when they seem to be so numerous species and whitebaiters are catching them by the bucket-load every spring all across New Zealand. But the whitebait catch isn’t just made up of of one species, it actually includes five – giant kōkopu, […]
If you want to see a badly polluted Canterbury river, take a Sunday drive and have a look at the Selwyn/Waikirikiri River. Just 20 years ago it was clear and swimmable. But now it has become a cess pit, destroyed by run-off from intensive farming and toxic algae. To highlight the ruin of this once […]
Whitebait season is again upon us, and many are wondering if it will be a bumper year or a fizzer. The size of the catch depends on a mysterious combination of the weather now, the weather a few months ago, ocean currents, and the lure of supply and demand. Even a hundred years ago, there was huge […]
The future of New Zealand’s endemic longfin eel is in serious jeopardy. In April 2013, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment stated in no uncertain terms that: “It is critical that we stop fishing longfin eels. It is not just fishing that is the problem, but stopping it is the only action that has immediate […]
The Government has released its Freshwater discussion document for public consultation. The document is, at least in part, based on the recommendations of the Land and Water forum, comprised of 70 stakeholders including Forest & Bird. Over the last 7 years, the Land and Water Forum has done something remarkable. They agreed on an integrated […]