Environment Canterbury is asking for feedback on the future direction of climate action, land use and biodiversity, and water and coastal issues in the region. Read on for tips on what to include in your submission.
Environment Canterbury is asking for feedback on the future direction of climate action, land use and biodiversity, and water and coastal issues in the region. A consultation earlier this year highlighted the differences in opinion between farming and non-farming communities (see the report here), reinforcing the importance of communicating what is important to rural families, communities and businesses.
You can give feedback online on each of the three topics (climate action, land use & biodiversity and water and coast), or attend a drop-in session. See the ECan website for more information or register your interest in attending a workshop or webinar to discuss your views and develop your feedback by emailing Hannah.ritchie@far.org.nz.
You can submit as an individual or as a part of a catchment group or collective. If you want to prepare your own feedback, here are some things to consider:
Theme one: Land use and biodiversity:
Healthy soils: Healthy soils are noted as a key theme in the land use topic.
- Why are healthy soils important to you?
- What are already doing to maintain/improve soil health?
- Do you think there is a good understanding among the wider public of the importance of soil health to a cropping farmer?
- What sort of support (regulatory or non-regulatory) would be beneficial for managing soil health?
- Are there any barriers that prevent you from effectively managing soil health at the moment?
- Would you support a policy approach that recognised and planned for using soil as a carbon store?
Increasing regional coverage of biodiversity: The regional council has a requirement to set a target of at least 10% indigenous vegetation cover for any urban or rural environment in the region. The council is seeking feedback on whether Canterbury should go further than 10%.
- What should the council be considering when they make such a decision?
- How do manage any areas of indigenous biodiversity on your farm?
- Are there any barriers or incentives to managing it effectively at the moment? What does increasing the amount of biodiversity beyond the regulatory minimum look like for farmers?
- How might such a mandate impact your farm – what are the potential benefits and risks?
Theme two: Water and Coast
The council are required under the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management to create ‘Freshwater Management Units’ (FMUs) across the region and to define long-term visions for each FMU. These visions must be included as objectives in the Regional Policy Statement. In drafting long-term visions, what do you think it is important to include?
- What do you want to see in your local waterways and wider catchment in the next generation?
- What part does your farm play in the health and wellbeing of your local catchment/community?
- How important is water to your farm, your local catchment and your community?
- Where improvements in water quality are required, what timeframes do you think these should be achieved over?
- What would be the difference in impacts of short timeframes (10 years) vs longer timeframes (50 years) on you, your family, your community and your business if you were required to make changes to your farming practice to meet water quality targets?
Theme three: Climate Action
The council are asking for feedback on setting a regional target, in addition to existing national targets, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- How would you feel about new regional targets for emissions reductions? Do you think it could improve emissions reduction efforts, or add unnecessary complexity?
- Do you think there could be any benefits or risks to regional targets to your business, or arable farming in the region more broadly?
- Do you think that reducing greenhouse gas emissions should be prioritised over other environmental outcomes on your farm?
If you want to provide feedback but you’re not sure where to start, support is available from FAR. Register your interest in attending a workshop or webinar to discuss your views and develop your feedback by emailing Hannah.ritchie@far.org.nz.