Lobby group campaigns to save NZ rivers

Environmental and outdoor organisations have formed a lobby group to push the degradation of the nation's rivers into the spotlight at next year's general election.

Fish and Game New Zealand, the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society, the Federated Mountain Clubs and the New Zealand Recreational Canoeing Association, are to launch their Living Rivers coalition at Waikato River.

"We believe that the state of our rivers needs to be put firmly on the political agenda," said Fish and Game chairman Sandy Lawrie, whose organisation has run a high-profile campaign against "dirty dairying".

Mr Lawrie said Growing for Good, a report by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Morgan Williams, on the effects of intensive farming in New Zealand summed up many of the threats facing New Zealand's rivers.

The report showed that rapid expansion of nitrogen fertilisers, increased stocking rate, and increased irrigation were threatening soils and freshwater, he said.

It concluded there was strong evidence that waterways were becoming degraded from animal matter and nitrogen.

 

Mr Lawrie said that during the past year there had been reports from a range of Government agencies identifying rivers for more dams, revealing high levels of waterway pollution, and attempts to weaken the environmental protection ability of the Resource Management Act.

"There have been more private enterprise proposals to channel our wild rivers into hydro-energy developments when its utility as a future source of energy is highly debatable," he said.

Fish and Game was concerned at moves to weaken the Water Conservation Order provisions of the Resource Management Act, which had in the past saved many important rivers from degradation, it said.