222893e

LEGAL FRAMEWORK AT THE NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL LEVELSeveral regional councils are already engaged in implementing theNational Policy Statement on Freshwater Management and theGovernment is finalizing the details of its further freshwater reformpackage stemming from proposals based on, and consistent with,LWF’s recommendations.Responses at the regional levelThe Canterbury region on the east side of New Zealand’s SouthIsland has relatively low rainfall, but with major agriculturalinvestments and significant growth opportunities if more wateris available and water quality can be maintained. While LWF wasdeliberating at a national level, the Canterbury Regional Counciland its associated district councils had already embarked on acollaborative form of regional water governance and management.This is now at a stage where it will greatly facilitate theLWF recommendations, the requirements of the National PolicyStatement on Freshwater Management and any new governmentwater reforms.Water disputes in Canterbury have been particularly acrimoniousin the past, resulting in a series of major court cases largely dueto the “breakdown of trust and confidence between environmental/conservationand farming/irrigation interests in the context ofunprecedented pressure on the water resource and the lack of aclear strategic approach to water management.” 8 To address this,the Canterbury Regional Council (in concert with local districtcouncils) called for a better way forward based on “collaborationand integrated management to maximize the opportunitiesfor the environment, economy and community of Canterbury inthe years ahead.” This was the genesis of the Canterbury WaterManagement Strategy (CWMS), 9 addressing challenges such asthe pressure on river systems (especially lowlandstreams) and aquifer systems, cumulative effects onecosystems, cultural health of waterways, water useefficiency, climate change, water quality impairmentand infrastructure issues.The new strategyA paradigm shift was needed in the way water is allocatedand managed with the following changes:• a shift from effects-based management of individualconsents to integrated management based onlarge community and catchment-oriented watermanagement zones• management of the cumulative effects of waterabstraction and land use intensification• water allocation decisions that address sustainableenvironmental limits and climate variability• actions to protect and restore freshwaterbiodiversity, amenity values and natural character.The CWMS is underpinned by a set of guiding principles(which have legal status under the legislationthat mandates governance of the Canterbury RegionalCouncil) and 10 targets. 10 Principles and targets encompasscultural, economic and social aspirations as well asenvironmental ones, but the requirement to manage thewater resource sustainably is a ‘first order’ principle.Key to the implementation of the CWMS was theestablishment of 10 cooperatively managed watermanagement zones. Zones involve one or more majorImage: Canterbury Regional CouncilThe Canterbury Plains and Lake Ellesmere /Te Waihora. The lake’s water quality depends on cooperative management under the CWMS[ 180 ]