The future of pest management in the Waikato and New Zealand
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Animal and plant pests are a huge threat to the Waikato region's - and New Zealand’s - economy, environment and way of life.
Pests threaten:
- our world-famous native wildlife
- our ability to enjoy the outdoors
- agricultural production such as dairy farms, orchards, and plantation forests.
What is Environment Waikato doing about it?
- Implementing a new Regional Pest Management Strategy (RPMS) to combat existing plant and animal threats in the region.
- Lobbying the government to change its policies so the crown can do its fair share of pest control on its own lands.
- Working closely with other regional councils to make local government is effectively communicating communities’ interests in pest management that protects our unique environment and economy and receives sufficient crown support.
Regional and unitary councils throughout the country share some concerns about the current biosecurity and pest management system. In an effort to analyse the current situation and offer some new approaches, the councils commissioned a think piece on the future of pest control by Enfocus consultancy. Regional councils have collectively endorsed this document and its recommendations and we encourage our ratepayers to make themselves familiar with its contents so they can gain a better understanding of the pest threats and environmental values that our future biosecurity system will need to manage.
You can download a copy of this think piece from Local Government New Zealand. (LGNZ)
Related links
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) and Biosecurity New Zealand (BNZ) have commissioned their own think piece on the future of pest management. You can access their report here.
The new government and the crown agencies are reviewing both the council and crown reports on the future of pest management as part of a public consultation process to develop any necessary policy adjustments to the biosecurity and pest management system. MAF/BNZ expects to issue a single document for formal public consultation sometime next year.
You can read about the MAF/BNZ consultation process and next steps for these documents under the reports section on the MAF website.
Contact us
Environment Waikato will continue to engage with other councils and the Crown as this consultation process continues. If you have any comments or questions about the council think piece as listed on the LGNZ website, please feel free to contact our biosecurity and heritage advocate.