EDS calls for urgent action to avoid species extinction

Friday, 28 April 2017, 4:57 pm
Press Release: Environmental Defence Society

Media Release: EDS calls for urgent action to avoid species extinction

The Environmental Defence Society has released its submission on the Government’s freshwater reform proposals and has called for more urgent action.

“The freshwater domain report that was published yesterday cites a truly alarming downward trend in the ecological health of our waterways,” said EDS CEO Gary Taylor.

“It documents in stark statistics the very real threats of massive species extinction if urgent interventions aren’t made.

“Our submission on the Government’s latest freshwater reform proposals calls for target dates to be brought forward and for the implementation of the reforms to be energised and prioritised.

“There are also a number of technical fixes to be made to the criteria for measuring trends and setting limits that we have set out in full. These are largely in accord with the Land and Water Forum’s recommendations which Government must not ignore.

“We have also flagged the need for agricultural land uses in sensitive catchments to be required to obtain land use consents that would set maximum stocking limits. It’s clear that good management practice on its own is not going to cut the mustard and we need to start reducing stocking numbers particularly in the dairy sector.

"We'd like to acknowledge with thanks the many individuals and groups that provided helpful feedback on our initial draft submission,” Mr Taylor concluded.

The final submission is available here.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Environmental Defence Society

EDS speaks for the environment. It has influence.

Since 1971, EDS has been driving environmental protection in Aotearoa New Zealand through law and policy change. That's why it's one of this country's most influential non- profit organisations when it comes to achieving better environmental outcomes.

EDS has expertise in key disciplines including law, planning, landscape and science. It operates as a policy think-tank, a litigation advocate, and a collaborator – bringing together the private and public sectors for constructive engagement.

EDS runs conferences and seminars on topical issues, including an annual Environmental Summit and the Climate Change and Business Conference.

EDS is a registered charity and donations to it are tax-deductible.