KEY POINTS:
Urgency is needed to win the battle in protecting the Hauraki Gulf, says Auckland Regional Council chairman Mike Lee.
A Hauraki Gulf state of the environment report released yesterday found current regulatory approaches and management arrangements might be inadequate to deal with the pressures facing the gulf.
The report, collated by the Hauraki Gulf Forum, documented accumulating heavy metals in Auckland's upper harbours and large amounts of nitrogen entering the Firth of Thames from dairy sources.
The build-up of contaminants such as heavy metals and sediments from past and present land development, especially from the Auckland urban area, was compromising water quality and marine biodiversity in the Waitemata Harbour, Tamaki and Whitford estuaries.
The report said another indicator of high sediment loading was increasing mangrove cover which was threatening seabird shellbank nesting sites, particularly around the internationally recognised migratory bird habitat at Miranda.
It also suggested there were gaps and inconsistencies in the way environmental information was collected around the gulf, uncertainty over which indicators to report on, and incompatibility in the scales of management applied to fisheries and resource management.
Mr Lee, who is also Hauraki Gulf Forum deputy chairman, presented the main findings of the report to guests at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron last night and said there was no cause for complacency.
"The battle to protect the Hauraki Gulf is yet to be won."
He said the protection and enhancement intended by the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park Act had yet to be realised.
The act, introduced in 2000, recognised the national significance of the gulf and established objectives to guide and integrate its management.
"The report shows the significant expenditure being made in storm and wastewater infrastructure, planning, regulatory controls and community engagement, but greater urgency and co-ordination is needed," Mr Lee said.
The report also documented the ecological recovery occurring on many of the gulf islands, through predator control and volunteer restoration groups.
John Tregidga, the forum chairman, said the report showed that careful and integrated management was needed to ensure the health of the gulf.
"Its message is that we have much to be encouraged by and much to be concerned about." Mr Tregidga said the forum's work plan aimed to provide greater guidance on the use of environmental indicators and monitoring, the development of policies and plans required under the Hauraki Gulf Marine Park Act, and recognition of iwi interests around the gulf.
The 100-page report, the second compiled by the forum, showed the catchment around the gulf was home to more than one million people, with growing consumption and intensifying farming practices adding pressures.
United Nations Environment Programme executive director Achim Steiner, a special guest at the launch as part of a visit to New Zealand to celebrate World Environment Day, said state of the environment reporting was an important tool to focus management agencies on achieving the environmental outcomes sought by the community.
"Internationally we have found that integrating management across the whole catchment, from mountains to the sea, is essential for the protection of marine areas."
* The Hauraki Gulf Forum is a statutory body responsible for the integrated management of the Hauraki Gulf. It has representation on behalf of the Ministers of Conservation, Fisheries and Maori Affairs, Auckland Regional Council and Environment Waikato, 10 local authorities plus six representatives of the tangata whenua of the Hauraki Gulf and its islands.* www.haurakigulfforum.org.nz
