Environmental challenges call for local solutions

Andrew says there’s a huge amount of good work going on from farm planning and adopting good practices to investing in innovation. “But there’s also a lot of worry and uncertainty out there with so much coming at the rural sector.”

“The Government has set a very clear direction but I know there is a lot of concern out there about the speed and scale of the reforms, particularly in the environmental space. Farmers need sensible and practical policies that work on the ground.

“At the same time there aren’t a lot of solutions coming,” Andrew says. “We know that a one-size-fits-all solution isn’t going to work across the entire country. That doesn’t get us where we want to be.

“Now’s the time to work together and come up with the best solutions for Southland and present those back to the Government, like we did with winter grazing late last year.”

In June, Environment Southland hosted an initial hui bringing together around 60 rural professionals, leaders and community members. The hui focused on Southland’s environmental challenges – climate change, biodiversity and water quality.

Andrew says the hui was the next step on a journey that started years ago with the Council investing in science, economics and establishing the Southland Regional Forum. “This is another example of how we are getting through things, getting things done.”

With change being a key theme to many of the conversations Andrew has had recently, he believes looking for integrated solutions that provide multiple benefits and tackle these challenges is where the big wins will be for Southlanders.

Andrew says the challenge has never been clearer.

“There’s a lot of talk about uncertainty, people are hearing big numbers and lots of change, and aren’t sure what to do.

“It’s going to be a big job, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be exploring ways of getting there. We don’t need to wait for more science, or spend time pointing the finger. Farmer-led catchment community groups are a great platform for groups of farmers to achieve long-term goals, whether that is water quality or biodiversity.”

Andrew explains with an analogy of roof painting: “Just because my neighbour hasn’t painted his roof, doesn’t mean I should wait to paint mine. I’m part of the community, and by painting my roof, my neighbour might see how great it looks and get onto painting his as well.

“We need to leverage the momentum we have right now. It is not going to be easy, but it’s our community and it’s worth doing.”

You can read the full Envirosouth magazine as a PDF online here.