‘Yes’ For Hillcountry Funding

Taranaki has won extra money for environmental work in the face of widespread funding cutbacks.

The region will receive nearly $1.1 million over four years from a three-year-old Government sustainable land management fund – the full allocation sought by the Taranaki Regional Council .

The money will mainly go towards poplar poles to be planted in the Waitotara Valley and elsewhere in the hillcountry to stabilize farmland and avert slips and erosion. Such work helps to prevent silt and sediment clogging rivers, thus reducing flood risks and protecting water quality.

The Council’s Director-Operations, Rob Phillips , is pleased that Taranaki’s application for the Hill Country Erosion Fund allocation was 100% successful, and says it’s a real shot in the arm for the region’s hillcountry farmers.

“It will certainly provide more options for carrying out this work. And landowners know how important it is, because the 2004 and 2006 Waitotara Valley floods are still fresh in everyone’s minds.”

Mr Phillips says that since the floods the Council has worked closely with landowners in the valley, with good take-up of the comprehensive farm plans it supplies under its sustainable land management programme.

These plans are based on a detailed land resource inventory and include an analysis of the property’s soils, geology, vegetation, slope and erosion, and they recommend measures to stablise and protect soil.

“Having the plans already prepared, and many land owners already starting to implement them, meant our funding application to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry could include exact details of what’s required, what’s already been achieved, what still needs doing and where the funds will be applied.

“In approving the funding, MAF commended us for our whole catchment management approach, collaborative farm planning and existing and ongoing consultation with landowners.”

The Sustainable Land Management Hill Country Erosion Fund makes $2 million a year available for regional initiatives to protect erosion-prone land. It is available to projects co-ordinated by regional councils, with landowners expected to provide financial or in-kind support.

Mr Phillips says the Council is also helping hillcountry landowners take advantage of opportunities presented by the Government’s Afforestation Grants Scheme, which so far has led to 320 ha of planned plantings in the region.

ENDS

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