Exposure draft of proposed changes to NPS-FM and NES-F (includes Wetland Regulations)
Federated Farmers New Zealand (FFNZ) supports the goal of avoiding the further loss of natural inland wetlands and protecting and enhancing wetland values. However, it has become clear the proposed regulations requiring councils to map all natural wetlands, and for farmers to then exclude stock from these wetlands, are not a suitable method of achieving this goal. FFNZ has three key areas of concern.
It is not practical for councils to accurately map the over 100,000 hectares of natural wetland across New Zealand’s 49,000 farms, and for farmers to then exclude stock from these areas.
Due to the important role played by stock in grazing invasive pests, in many cases, excluding stock will result in worse environmental outcomes than appropriate levels of grazing.
Wetland environmental values can be best enhanced by identifying key wetland areas in farm environment plans and developing a farm-specific plan for enhancing these wetland areas.
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Any queries contact:
Paul Melville
Principal Advisor - Water & Environment Strategy
021 812 423
[email protected]