TRC Bulletin
26 November 2015

Items of interest from today’s meeting of the Taranaki Regional Council’s Policy and Planning Committee
Gaps in the bigger picture

Environment Aotearoa 2015, the national state of the environment report published in October, is a useful document but has gaps and may be open to misinterpretation, the Committee was told. An initial analysis of the Ministry for the Environment publication, for example, found minimal discussion of what is happening at local or regional level. This may give the mistaken impression that national trends are consistent across the country, rather than linked to particular issues in some regions. The publication heralds a new approach to environmental reporting under new legislation, and the Council will make submissions on detailed regulations currently being drawn up in Wellington.
Coastal treasures documented

A new study identifying outstanding coastal areas has been generally well received and is an important building block in the Council’s review of its Regional Coastal Plan for Taranaki. The study lists seven areas of outstanding natural character and nine with outstanding natural features and landscapes, all of which will be given the highest level of protection. Five of the locations are new, adding to those already in the current Plan. Surf breaks will be studied and catalogued separately. See bit.ly/Coastal-landscape.
Progress on pest plan

A new Draft Regional Pest Management Plan is expected to be published in mid-2016 for public feedback, the Committee was told. The new plan will combine the current Pest Animal Strategy and Pest Plant Strategy, and will incorporate new Government requirements on the issue. Recent work has included detailed cost-benefit analyses of control measures on particular pest species and the development of ‘good neighbour rules’ that the Crown must meet to ensure the Council’s pest management approach is effective.

Please note there is a separate statement on freshwater management arising from today’s meeting.

ENDS