Monday 27th February 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dream for iconic Mackenzie Basin one step closer to reality

In Twizel last Thursday members of the Mackenzie Country Trust formally adopted their Strategic Framework, bringing them one step closer to realising a local and national vision to protect and preserve the unique and truly iconic landscapes of the Mackenzie Basin while at the same time, supporting a flourishing and sustainable economy.

It has taken five years to get to this point after the release of “The Mackenzie Agreement – A Shared Vision”, the result of a difficult but productive process where opposing stakeholders sat down, agreed on a common purpose and set the course for a future Trust to bring that vision to reality.

In what has been a long process, with more hurdles than anticipated to obtain national funding, the Trust is finally in a position to move forward and begin working with farmers to identify significant areas for protection, establish Joint Management Agreements, engage with government agencies and work tirelessly to employ novel funding mechanisms to bring that vision to reality.

This is good news for the Mackenzie Region and the trustees are determined to prove that the balance between environmental and economic sustainability can be achieved when people work together with a common goal.

ENDS
About the Mackenzie Country Trust: MCT had its beginnings in November 2010 with the Mackenzie Country Symposium in Twizel. A collaborative process with 26 interested parties, known as the Shared Vision Forum supported by then Minister of Environment, Hon. Nick Smith, followed this symposium which ran over a sixteenmonth period. It is the Trust’s role to implement the outcome of that collaborative process, The Mackenzie Agreement which was signed by 22 parties in 2013.

Copies of The Mackenzie Agreement and the MCT Strategic Framework can be found at: http://www.mackenziecountry.org.nz/framework

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