Addressing severe erosion on the East Coast
Addressing severe erosion on the East Coast
Associate
Primary Industries Minister Jo Goodhew has today announced
that public consultation on proposed operational changes to
the East Coast Forestry Project (ECFP) is now
underway.
“The Gisborne region has a severe erosion
problem. A quarter of the land is susceptible to severe
erosion, compared with only 8 percent of all land in New
Zealand,” says Mrs Goodhew.
“The ECFP funds the treatment of land to prevent soil erosion, through planting trees or indigenous regeneration.”
Since 1992 landowners have used the fund to treat soil erosion on 42,000 hectares.
“But some 60,000 hectares of eligible land
remains prone to erosion across the region, and landowners
need support to tackle the issue,” says Mrs
Goodhew.
“The proposed changes to the ECFP come as a
result of two reviews by the Ministry for Primary Industries
in 2011 and 2012. The reviews made a number of operational
recommendations aimed at improving participation.
“The proposals in the consultation address these issues and suggest either improving the regulations or removing them altogether.
“I encourage landowners, tāngata whenua and stakeholders to give their feedback on what would work best for them,” says Mrs Goodhew.
Consultation closes on Sunday 16 March 2014. Further information can be found on the Ministry for Primary Industries website: www.mpi.govt.nz
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