Rangitāiki River catchment work programme approved

A new programme to protect and enhance the Rangitaiki River and its catchment was approved by the Bay of Plenty Regional Council’s Regional Direction and Delivery Committee last week.

The Rangitāiki River Catchment annual work programme is an initiative established to meet the community’s expectations for the health of the Rangitāiki River catchment. It was approved in BOPRC’s Long Term Plan 2015-25 and links to the Rangitāiki River Forum and its approved river strategy, Te Ara Whanui o Rangitāiki – Pathways of the Rangitāiki.

“Having the work programme approved is a big step forward for the Rangitāiki catchment,” Regional Council Catchment Manager (Eastern) Simon Stokes says. “Efforts to protect and enhance the river environment are ongoing, and this dedicated programme is testament to how seriously we take this work. It also gives Council and partners a clearer picture of what our goals and – and of how we achieve them.”

The programme co-ordinates and prioritises all Council’s work related to the Rangitāiki River catchment. It will cover all significant activities in the catchment, including work across the policy and planning, science, pollution prevention and maritime teams, and outlines Council’s projects, budgets and deliverables for the next financial year. “Council intends to develop the programme to include our partners from the Rangitāiki River Forum, enabling a collaborative and adaptive management approach to managing the river catchment environment,” Simon says.

The catchment programme details all operational activities such as biosecurity, coast care and sustainable land management. Key work for 2015 and 2016 includes continuing science efforts to understand the state of the river environment, managing and implementing Coastcare programmes including dune restoration, supporting the Rangitāiki River Forum and working with iwi, landowners, communities and territorial authorities to protect and restore the catchment environment.

“We will seek confirmation and commitment from our partners regarding other actions in Te Ara Whanui o Rangitāiki – Pathways of the Rangitāiki this year. Eventually this will mean we can report on a work programme that covers activities by all strategy partners to provide an overall picture of our work in the catchment.

ENDS

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