Conservation Comment: Waterways lifeblood of Aotearoa

John Milnes

RESTITUTION was sought in the case of Maria Altman from the Austrian Government in her effort to regain ownership of a family heirloom, the painting of her aunt, Adele Bloch-Bauer, by Gustave Klimt. The story is well told in the movie Woman In Gold.

When it comes to art, it is often its monetary value that is quoted, not whether we like it or not, or as in the case of this particular portrait, its intrinsic value as a portrait of a beloved aunt. Currently our commodities are defined by supply and demand, rarity or trendiness and then valued in dollars.

Our aquifers and rivers are often valued more for how much profit can be made using their water, particularly for irrigation, than for any intrinsic beauty or recreational values. The swimmability of rivers has been deemed by government to be too hard to maintain, so let's just call them "wadeable" and forget about any attempt to restore what has been lost in just a few years.

It is time we demanded restitution for what has been taken, these public assets have been used for private profit. This is about appreciating our water and irrigation and is a reasonable use of water but it must not take precedence over public use and the environment.

Our rivers and lakes must be made at least swimmable, but long-term we should aim for drinkable, which we took for granted when many of us were children. For years we have ignored the signs that were telling us that water standards were being whittled away, rivers polluted, lakes like Rotorua deteriorating and even Wakatipu showing signs in the last few months of higher nutrient levels and the appearance of "lake snow" algae.

This connection was not acknowledged in an interview aired on RNZ in a discussion with the Queenstown mayoral candidates as they talked about losing the character of Queenstown to more growth. It is a microcosm of the dilemma facing the planet, our obsession with growth, while all around us environmental degradation is telling us that we must curtail this addictive obsession -- or find another planet or two to continue our current growth to the end of this century.

If there are times that we "conservationists/restitutionists" seem a bit angry with the over-users and abusers of water, it is not helped by comments like those from a federated farmer spokesperson who complained about "how much water was running to waste out to sea". I was aghast that there could be such little understanding about how important a river's flow is to its health.

But it is not all bad, the good news is there are many farmers who are doing the right things to improve their local waterways with riparian planting, reducing stock numbers and managing their effluent. In fact, many are finding they are better off with less intensive farming because it has reduced their input costs.

The water of Aotearoa belongs to all of us; it is the lifeblood of our country and our people. We need to demand restitution, not monetary, as that is what got waterways into this state in the first place. It is achievable to get our rivers and lakes wadeable, fishable, swimmable and drinkable. They must be managed like they matter, because they do.

Restitution is not about money; it is about where we live.

� John Milnes is a conservationist and grandfather who is attempting to improve our future environment.