Fencing contractors setting up fencing at Ivan Knauf's site. Photo / Supplied
Fencing contractors setting up fencing at Ivan Knauf's site. Photo / Supplied
A Hawke's Bay dairy farmer has credited the first steps towards the restoration of the local wetland ecosystem to a government-local council partnership.
Wairua Dairies owner Ivan Knauf says he's able to fence a 90-hectare wetland surrounded by native bush on his farm thanks to the $4.2m Jobs for Nature partnership between the Ministry for the Environment and Hawke's Bay Regional Council.
The fencing is one of 70 projects across Hawke's Bay funded by the Jobs for Nature Hāpara Takatū project.
The Hāpara Takatū project will establish 195km of new riparian fencing to exclude stock from vulnerable waterways over the next two years; reducing erosion, enabling riparian plantings to grow and creating jobs.
QEII National Trust and Fonterra also made financial contributions to fencing off Knauf's wetland.
The project has established four kilometres of fencing around the wetland to keep out feral deer and other animals from feeding on native plants and trees.
The wetland alongside the Ngaruroro River. Photo / Supplied
Knauf said the fencing is a "crucial first step to restore the wetland and improve freshwater quality".
"The next step is to manage willow trees, blackberries and other weeds to allow the native bush to flourish, and native birdlife to return," he said.
Secretary for the Environment Vicky Robertson said landowners across Hawke's Bay are getting involved in the project.
"Central to the new essential freshwater package is the principle of Te Mana o Te Wai, putting the health of freshwater first," she said.
"This year World Environment Day (June 5) calls for urgent action to restore damaged ecosystems. This project is a great example of putting that into practice."
HBRC terrestrial ecologist Keiko Hashiba said the wetland on Knauf's land is a critical biodiversity area for indigenous wetland flora and fauna who have lost the majority of their habitats across the region.
"Ten per cent of Hawke's Bay used to be covered in wetlands – around ten times the size of Napier," she said. "There is only 4 per cent of the original extent left, and most of the wetlands we have today are very small and isolated.
"A wetland of this size is very uncommon and that's why it is so exciting to protect and restore it."
Hawke's Bay Regional Council staff talking to the landowner and contractor about the project. Photo / Supplied
Hashiba said the restoration will mean the wetland will become a vital habitat for threatened species, a better functioning "kidney" for filtering contaminants from the land, a water reservoir and carbon storage for our region.
Council catchment team leader Warwick Hesketh said fencing waterways is the single most effective thing farmers can do to protect water quality and restore sensitive freshwater ecosystems.
"To us this is about partnering with our community, not just to fence off waterways for water quality benefits, but also enhancing biodiversity, recreation, mahinga kai – those things that are so important to us as New Zealanders," he said.
The Hāpara Takatū project has also generated more jobs in the region, with fencing contractors expanding their workforce.
The Government's $1.245bn Jobs for Nature package aims to create significant environmental benefits and bring thousands of people into nature-based work to help accelerate the recovery from the impacts of Covid-19.
