22 Our Year in Review cont <strong>Meridian</strong>’s Natural Resources team is an integral part of the renewable generation operation Natural Resources <strong>Meridian</strong>’s Natural Resources team is an integral part of the renewable generation operation. They are responsible for the monitoring of, and compliance with, environmental permit (resource consent, concessions, the Biosecurity Act) conditions, as well as managing mitigation, if required. Hydro generation has environmental effects, and ensuring these are identified and dealt with effectively, is the key to <strong>Meridian</strong> achieving its sustainability commitments. In addition to the monitoring and management of physical effects, the Natural Resources team works closely with local stakeholders, iwi and regulators to discuss how to best manage what are very complex and dynamic natural systems. The team also provides advice on new generation proposals, both hydro and wind. This helps ensure environmental sustainability principles are considered right from the earliest conceptual phase, are continued during the planning, design and construction process, and eventually become part of New Zealand’s electricity supply. In addition, the Natural Resources team works with local councils on a large number of District and Local Government plans, providing input from <strong>Meridian</strong> as the country’s largest specialist operator of renewable electricity generation. Policy and planning work requires a significant allocation of resource, but it is crucial that council regulations take into account <strong>Meridian</strong>’s expertise and provide the flexibility required for it to operate its renewable generation facilities. Manapouri-Te Anau <strong>Meridian</strong> has an active and wide-ranging monitoring programme for the Manapouri-Te Anau system, which includes consultation with stakeholder groups including iwi, the Waiau Working Party, the Guardians of Lake Manapouri, Monowai and Te Anau, Department of Conservation, Fish & Game and Fiordland Marine Guardians. During the year, the Natural Resources team commissioned a project on natural turf ecosystems, which include a number of rare and endangered species, around the lake margins. The study showed there had been no effects to the ecosystems attributable to the hydro management of lakes Manapouri and Te Anau, and that any changes identified were also present in the ecosystems in the nearby, but non-hydro, Lake Hauroko. The Eel Trap and Transfer programme, run by <strong>Meridian</strong> in conjunction with local rūnanga members, captured a record 1,400 migratory eels in lakes Manapouri and Te Anau. The eels were released in the Waiau River below the Manapouri lake control structure. The programme also captures elver from below the Manapouri lake control structure for transfer to lakes Manapouri and Te Anau, and the Mararoa River. In the Mararoa River, the Natural Resources team improved the fish habitat during re-lining work on the channel which delivers water to the Manapouri lake control structure. The Mararoa River channel was cut around 20 years ago but since then has naturally widened and eroded its sides, with a reduction in flow speed and the amount of shingle moving through the channel. The work included placing
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