An update on the fate of Canterbury’s 10 water zone committees could be known soon.
The Canterbury Mayoral Forum is due to receive an update into its review of the Canterbury Water Management Strategy (CWMS) committees later this month, before making a final decision in November.
The forum launched the review in August last year to consider how best to include local leadership in freshwater decision making.
The zone committees were established to implement the CWMS and to develop action plans for their local areas.
They are joint committees of Environment Canterbury and local councils, with membership comprising council, community and local rūnanga representatives.
Environment Canterbury councillor Claire McKay said there had been mixed feedback from different zone committees.
"How different zone committees have worked has been quite different.
"Catchment committees have taken off in the last few years and there are one or two strong ones in the Hurunui district, so what role will zone and catchment committees have in the future?"
Several catchment committees have been established to consider the needs of local catchments.
The Kaikōura and Waimakariri Zone Committees have continued to be active in supporting local community projects, while the Hurunui Waiau Uwha Zone Committee was discharged in August 2021.
But Environment Canterbury councillor Grant Edge said the Hurunui District Council had continued to work closely with Environment Canterbury on a number of projects as part of the zone action plan.
In a recent report, four North Canterbury projects were listed in the CWMS’s 10 priority projects.
These included the Hurunui and Waiau braided river birds programme, the Waiau Toa Clarence River project, the Ashley Rakahuri rat project and the Ashley Rakahuri / Waimakariri dune wetland project.
Environment Canterbury is working alongside the Department of Conservation to protect the nationally endangered black-fronted tern on the Hurunui and Waiau Uwha Rivers.
This season the focus has been on establishing predator control and weed removal on the Waiau Uwha River.
The Waiau Toa Clarence River project is a multi-year project for weed and pest control in the catchment to protect native birds.
The Kaikōura Zone Committee and Environment Canterbury have been working with Land Information New Zealand, the Marlborough District Council and the Department of Conservation.
The Ashley Rakahuri rat project is focused on protecting habitats for birds nesting.
The dune wetland project covers a large area, including the Tutaihara Coastal Park, Tutaepatu Lagoon and Kaiapoi wetlands.
• LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
