Paula Thompson BOP Regional Councillor www.envbop.govt.nz

The Bay of Plenty Regional Council has responsibility to look after the land and water resources of the Bay. The regions area is 21,836km2 comprising 12,253km2 of land and 9,583km2 of coastal marine area.

The region is prone to natural hazards such as flooding and erosion and like all regions in NZ is under significant pressure to clean up all waterways .This includes the harbours estuaries, rivers, streams and lakes. Along with the Rotorua Lakes and major harbours we have five large estuaries and eight major rivers .The Government has set high standards for fresh water management and water quality and allocation of quantity will feature high on government and council agendas over the next few years

The council operates various programmes aimed at managing these natural resources. One of those programmes is Sustainable Land Use. The programme has a strong focus on removing stock access from lakes, harbours, estuaries, rivers and streams and works closely with landowners on a variety of land management practices such as riparian management plans, fertiliser use, nutrient management and erosion control. Actual activities include afforestation planting, alternative water supply, coastal protection planting, gully erosion, pest control, protection fencing, steam bank works, wetland biodiversity planting, and much more. The council also operates biodiversity programmes and again works with landowners to look for options to enhance the regions biodiversity whilst assisting landowners with land management options that works for them and the region.

However in a recent report to council it was acknowledged that there is still much to be done to make people aware of the issues and what the Regional Council can do to help - particularly landowners in helping them with erosion and sediment control. This is particularly so in the Tauranga Harbour Catchment as here there is diverse land ownership and community. We will be looking to focus in on how we can work more effectively with landowners, especially as we move to have a significant 'all of Harbour focus” over the next few years. Tauranga Harbour and all that flows into it will be a key priority for the council in 2013.

Please contact me at paulathompson@xtra.co.nz to discuss any Regional Council matter.