1 February 2008

Benchmarking essential, says Lake Taupo Protection Trust

Farmers in the Taupo catchment interested in selling land or nitrogen credits to the Lake Taupo Protection Trust need to get benchmarked before meaningful talks can begin and options can be explored.

That's the message from the trust, which has already been approached by interested farmers.

The Lake Taupo Protection Trust was established to protect water quality in Lake Taupo by permanently reducing the amount of nitrogen flowing into it.

"This is the first environmental project of its type in New Zealand and it's set to make history," trust chairman John Kneebone said.

The trust has been operational since February 2007 and has been preparing to start implementing new rules designed to protect the lake, which Waikato Regional Council introduced in July 2007. The rules are currently being finalised by the Environment Court and it is hoped this process will be completed by mid 2008.

"In the mean time, we are acutely aware that land sales within the catchment have stagnated while the legislation is being worked through and we certainly share the frustrations of not being able to plan ahead with any certainty," Mr Kneebone said.

"In an attempt to help, we are certainly willing to talk to affected land owners about the possibility of buying land and/or nitrogen credits in the near future. But before possible options can be explored, farmers need to know their nitrogen discharge allowances."

Waikato Regional Council's new rules mean most farmers in the Taupo catchment now need a resource consent to continue farming. (Life style block owners with stock numbers below the specified permitted limit are not affected.)

Undertaking a benchmarking process to determine how much nitrogen leached from their property between 1 July 2001 and 30 June 2004 is the first step towards getting the consent.

"At this stage farmers on about 17,000 ha of land either have, or are close to having, a benchmarked nitrogen discharge allowance (NDA)," Mr Kneebone said.

"However, the total catchment covers more than 50,000 ha so there's still a long way to go. If farmers don't have an NDA it will not be possible for us to determine what nitrogen reductions are possible for a property and what interests we may have in it."

Land owners who would like to explore their future options with the trust can contact a trustee representative in confidence through the trust secretary on .

The trust is also funding research into new rural activities that cause lower nitrogen losses from land and help farmers maintain a viable business. It plans to hold an open day early next year to allow the public to learn about the latest research.

The Lake Taupo Protection Trust reports to a governance group made up of representatives from central government, Taupo District Council, Waikato Regional Council and Tuwharetoa.