River victory won but green battle continues

In this age of increasing cynicism about how much we little people have a say in our affairs, it's right to celebrate a victory for People Power. I refer to the successful campaign to save the Mokihinui River on the West Coast.

When Meridian Energy withdrew its plan to dam the Mokihinui in May, it was a wonderful culmination of a six-year battle by Forest and Bird and its allies. It means a special river will continue to run freely, unimpeded by an 85m-high hydro dam. As well, 330ha of forest will not be flooded.

Some of the special features of the Mokihinui and adjacent area include 21 indigenous bird species (11 of which are threatened), longfin eels, endangered giant land snails, long-tailed bats, northern rata forest and the nationally threatened shrub daisy (Olearia cheesmanii).

Closer to home there have been some significant "people vs power scheme promoters" tussles in recent memory.

In 1959 power planners proposed building a 165m-high earth dam at Parikino on the lower Whanganui River. This would have created a lake running 90 miles inland.

In response the Wanganui River Association was formed, with the aim of preserving both the river and the identity of the river people. The instability of the land finally canned the scheme but submissions by the group that the dam would flood a number of urupa and also scenic reserves which had been given to the Crown on the understanding that they would never be destroyed also carried weight.

Then, in the late 1970s, the magnificent Manganui a te Ao River, which feeds into the Whanganui River, was in danger with the New Zealand Electricity Department eying it as a potential site for a power scheme. Local landowners, anglers, community members and groups and clubs rallied and in 1979 petitioned Parliament to protect the river.

Two years later, further protective measures came into force when the Rangitikei-Wanganui Catchment Board successfully recommended to the National Water and Soil Conservation Authority that the minimum flow for the Manganui a te Ao River be restricted to no less than 90 per cent of the remaining natural flow for a period of five years. While this halted hydro developments, it was not until 1989 that the river and its main tributaries were protected by a National Water Conservation Order in recognition of its scenic characteristics, habitat for the whio and as an outstanding recreational fishery.

So the Mokihinui River has been saved and, in the words of Forest and Bird general manager Mike Britton, this gives conservationists the courage to meet other challenges to the environment. Prominent examples include preserving the Deniston Plateau from mining and blocking two tourism-promoted developments in Fiordland - a tunnel between the Routeburn road end and Hollyford Valley; and a 43km monorail in the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Area.

Forest and Bird backs calls to stop these projects, which need concessions from the Conservation Department. It says they are contrary to legislation aimed at protecting our most precious landscapes and native species.

Opposition is spearheaded by the Save Fiordland group whose public campaign has been compared to the Save Manapouri campaign in the 1960s and early 1970s. It needs another such groundswell of public support to save Fiordland's treasures, but people power can prevail. Remember how the Government backed down when the public rallied against mining in national parks?

David Scoullar is a keen tramper, conservationist and member of the Te Araroa Whanganui Trust.