Biosecurity integral to long-term planning
The Taranaki Regional Council is responsible
for a geographically diverse environment.
For regional authorities nationwide, biosecurity and biodiversity make up an integral part of policy and planning. Recently, this has been reflected in new council-wide long-term plans established to present and support strategic directions and programmes at a regional level.
These 10-year, Long Term Council Community Plans (LTCCP) were implemented at regional councils nation-wide from 2004 as a requirement under the Local Government Act 2002.
Reviewed every three years, with annual plans in the intervening years, the LTCCP gives an all-encompassing outline of a council's activities within a longer-term context. With a community outcomes-focus, they are developed through a public consultation process and have strict reporting requirements. Outcomes are reviewed every six years and progress towards achieving them is reported on every three years.
Rob Phillips is Director of Operations at Taranaki Regional Council (TRC) and his work programme is guided by the plans. "The LTCCP starts by setting context - it gives an overview," he explains.
Reflecting the importance of biodiversity and biosecurity matters, five-year Regional Pest Management Strategies (RPMSs) have been incorporated into the LTCCPs.
"This integrates the strategies with other council activities," says Rob.
Managing pests
The council may adopt strategies that identify pests, specify objectives, set out management or control obligations and identify funding sources and levels. The TRC's Pest Management Officers work with contractors and landowners to manage the region's animal and plant pests.
In Taranaki, two separate strategies, the Pest Animal Management Strategy and the Pest Plant Management Strategy have been incorporated into the LTCCP.
The TRC takes a species-led approach to pest management across the region, working on a "suite of pests" as they affect particular areas, says Rob.
"We are increasingly moving towards a site-led approach."
The possum is the region's most significant declared pest and a substantial focus of the Pest Animal Management Strategy.
The key methodology for the control of possums is the council's self-help possum control programme. The council largely funds and implements initial control operations to reduce possum numbers. Land occupiers are then required to keep possum numbers below a 10 percent residual trap count threshold. The TRC provides training and advice where necessary.
This programme helps dairy farmers protect their herds against bovine tuberculosis, Rob explains.
According to the TRC's LTCCP, by 2016 this programme will be extended to incorporate about 5,000 properties and 300,000 hectares, or 90 percent of the Taranaki ring plain and northern and southern coastal terraces. By June 2007, the programme had strong support from the 3,723 properties already involved in the scheme.
Possums are just one animal pest threat to the region, Rob says. "We also target mustelids and other animal threats to biodiversity at high-value sites. There is a lot of bush in eastern Taranaki which requires pest control work."
Battling pest plants
The TRC has a team of officers working on battling pest plants under the Pest Plant Management Strategy. In Taranaki, this mainly means agricultural pests like ragwort, gorse and giant buttercup.
Plant pest management involves a range of methods, including some compliance work with landowners.
While regional councils are responsible for controlling pests inside their geographical borders, coordination with government agencies is important. The Department of Conservation (DOC) manages pests on conservation estates, and MAF leads management of pests that are considered a national priority.
"We make sure our programmes complement each other with minimum overlap. We coordinate resources," Rob says.
He adds that there is plenty of dialogue with central government through the Central/Regional Government Biosecurity Forums, which involve senior managers from government departments and regional councils liaising on pest management and biosecurity issues.
"It's not just determined by MAF, it's collective," says John Sanson, National Coordination Team Manager for the MAF Biosecurity New Zealand (MAFBNZ) Pest Management Group.
This partnership and guidance from effectively run pest control, adds Rob.
"We want MAFBNZ to show leadership, especially where pests of national interest are concerned."
National interest programmes
Eleven national interest pest programmes are underway. Regional councils and other agencies (particularly DOC) undertake work as planned by MAFBNZ, which works out the objectives and planning and provide funding. "It's an efficient way of running those programmes – leveraging off their capability and local knowledge," says John Sanson. "We achieve some synergy there."
While pests are an urgent concern, maintaining biodiversity in the unique Taranaki region is also a high priority to the council.
Dominated by Egmont National Park and Mount Taranaki, the Taranaki region is a geographically diverse area. Keeping the balance of fertile plains, rocky mountain slopes and lush indigenous forest is essential to the wellbeing of all locals, from native birds to dairy farmers.
"As part of the biodiversity programme we have identified the valuable areas, such as forest remnants and wetlands, and set up biodiversity work programmes for them," Rob says.
Supporting this is a riparian management programme along the region's 17,000km of rivers and streams, to protect water quality and to provide a series of uninterrupted biodiversity ‘corridors' from Mount Taranaki to inland areas and to the sea.
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Page last updated: 19 June 2008