Biodiversity
Federated Farmers recognises the importance of our indigenous biological diversity as an important component of our identity as New Zealanders. We want to actively protect and enhance our indigenous biodiversity for everyone to enjoy.
Farmers spend millions of dollars each year on actively managing areas through weed and pest control, fencing and regeneration through planting and enhancement. The rate at which landowners are queuing up to formally covenant special areas on their farms has grown exponentially in the last ten years.
Our members are extremely proud of their work and achievements on their farms to protect and enhance biodiversity. It is this ethos that Federated Farmers considers should permeate government policy on biodiversity.
A number of farming areas throughout New Zealand rely on the routine clearance of regenerating indigenous plants to maintain pasture improvements. This does not mean they are clearing large tracts of native bush.
It is incredibly important to our farm businesses they can maintain the ability to cost effectively remove and control indigenous regrowing plant species. It was the ability to continue those activities and the wide ranging scope of the proposed National Policy Statement (NPS) on Indigenous Biodiversity that lead to wide concern among farmers about its impact on the productive sector.
Federated Farmers considers the NPS should not proceed in its current form. If it does proceed, it should direct councils to work in partnership with landowners to protect and enhance biodiversity in preference to regulation.
Federated Farmers strongly supports and acknowledges the existing investment in partnerships, with two key agencies working with landowners to enhance and protect our special places and things, QEII Trust and Landcare Trust.
If the Government is serious about protecting indigenous biological diversity, then it must be willing to invest, on behalf of all New Zealanders, in more weed and pest control on its own lands and in supporting partnerships with landowners through the QE II Trust, Landcare Trust and local government. This should be pursued through more active support of existing initiatives, by way of direct funding and through a contestable fund.
It should also amend the proposed NPS to limit the scope of regulatory protection to nationally important sites and require councils to work in partnership with landowners to protect and enhance other areas of indigenous biodiversity on private land.
Spokesperson
Federated Farmers Biodiveristy spokesperson on the National Board is Ian MacKenzie. You can contact him at imackenzie@fedfarm.org.nz.
