22 | Kaipara Moana Remediation REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Richard Loader 5edXcing sediPent ȵows a Sriorit\ Ecological Consultation - Revegetation Planting - Wholesale Plant Nursery Office: 09 431 2481 Email: info@ruraldesign.co.nz www.ruraldesign.co.nz Fresh Trees New Beginnings Under a co-governance arrangement between the Ministry for the Environment, Regional and District Councils, along with iwi and hapu groups, Kaipara Moana Remediation (KMR) is working hard to halve sediment ȵows into the Kaipara over a ten year period, and has already made significant progress. Ζn October 0 0, the Ministry for the (nvironment, Ngā Maunga Whakahii o Kaipara, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whātua, Te Uri o +au, Northland Regional Council, and Auckland Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding to Mointly protect and restore the mauri (life force) of Kaipara Moana. The 00 million proMect includes 100 million in Crown funding for the first six years, through the Jobs For Nature fund. Funding has also been provided by Northland Regional Council and the Auckland Regional Council, with contribution either in kind or money from the owners of land that is improved through fencing or planting. Kaipara Moana is one of the largest harbour system in the southern hemisphere, spanning the Auckland and Northland regions with ,000km of catchment and fed by ,110km of rivers, tributaries, estuaries and creeks. Ζt has deep cultural value, with many taonga species and some the rarest ecosystems in New Zealand, including sand-dunes, seagrass, freshwater and estuarine wetland ecosystems. As the breeding ground for New Zealand’s snapper fishery, it has maMor economic importance, and is also a breeding ground for great white shark. +ectors dolphins have also been seen in the area. Many people use the moana for recreation and play, and in by-gone days it fed vast amounts of Auckland. +owever, decades of deforestation and land-use intensification have degraded the catchment. to page 24 Today, less than 10 of original native forest and of wetlands remain, leading to a seven-fold increase in annual soil erosion and associated sediment washing into the Moana (a 00,000 tonnes). 0 km of the catchment is now considered highly erodible land. “The moana is a very important jewel for everyone, not just for those who live and work near it, but for all of New Zealand, so KMR’s aim is to restore the harbour to how it once was, at least within living memory,” says Ben +ope, KMR Communication Lead. “Some of the Kaumatua and kuia in the KMR group, recall that when they were children they could walk down to the water to collect scallops and pipis, and there were people who ran fishing businesses. “Some of the Kaumatua and kuia in the KMR group, recall that when they were children they could walk down to the water to collect scallops and pipis, and there were people who ran fishing businesses.ȋ NZ Biosecurity Services Limited Approved contractor for Kaipara Moana Remediation Supporting landowners with pest removal, slope stability and planting www.biosecurity.net.nz 09 447 1998
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=