Manuka plantation underway

The banks of the Rangitaiki River.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council is working with the Rangitaiki River Forum, Maori Lands Trusts, local landowners, Trust Power and Manuka Bioactives Limited to trial a planting scheme along a short section of riverbank on the Rangitaiki.

The small plantation is for manuka honey and oil.

The international market for manuka products is strong and may provide an opportunity for landholders to plant a native species in marginal land areas to generate a small income.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council Principal Works Engineer Tony Dunlop said the project was going well and hoped it might provide a productive land use alternative for some landowners.

"This particular area suffered fairly extensive damage during the floods in 2010 and 2012 and extensive repairs were carried out on the sites bordering Wanikau Lands Trust land," he said.

"One of the things we are aware of in riverbank repairs is that we have a reputation for rockworks and a loss of natural environments on riverbanks. Our priority is strong and resilient rivers that can cope with flood events and the protection of people and property on the other side of a stop bank."

"We have a number of projects under way to make sure that this is done as carefully as possible and we have incorporated whitebait spawning areas, eel habitat and shallower bank profiles to encourage native species in many of our recent works were we can."

Mr Dunlop said council was working alongside the Wanikau Trust to trial the manuka as a crop plant.

"There is a lot of work to do to find out if this is viable, but we're keen to know more," Mr Dunlop said.

The area was prepared in August, with gorse control and fencing put in place. In September 2000 plants were planted and the plants were now growing well, he said.

The new chair of the Rangitaiki River Forum, Maramena Vercoe, said she was pleased with the opportunities the scheme provided.

"It is great to see Council looking at new ways of doing things and providing opportunities for landowners to make the best of a challenging situation.

"Obviously no one wants to be flooded, but this provided a unique opportunity for the local hapu to practise their tikanga on their own land," she said.