20 Years of Sustainable Land and Water Management

Twenty Years of Independent Sustainable Land and Water Management.

NZ Landcare Trust is proud to announce its 20th Anniversary today, and to mark the occasion reveals the results of a recent national survey.

When it comes to sustainable land and water management NZ Landcare Trust has been the quiet achiever - a typical kiwi based approach focussed on getting things done. After twenty years working with farmers, landowners and community groups NZ Landcare Trust is proud of its track record and the reputation it has earned for delivering practical change.

Chair of the Board of Trustees Richard Thompson has been with NZ Landcare Trust from the beginning and explained that one of the Trust's greatest advantages is its ability to unite people, particularly those who might have different perspectives, such as production, recreation and the environment.

Richard said that after twenty years of action on the ground the NZ Landcare Trust remains just as relevant as it's ever been.

"Sustainability has now become a common term, yet twenty years ago things were very different. The Trust was at the forefront of change, helping to shift perception and encouraging people to adopt sustainable land management practices."

"Now, sustainability remains at the core of our work, with a special focus on improving water quality. This has increasingly seen us work alongside communities on catchment scale projects, where greater numbers of stakeholders using land in a variety of ways, presents fresh challenges. With a strong public interest in water quality this work will continue to be important for some time." Richard added.

NZ Landcare Trust Communications Manager James Barnett explained how the Trust's 20th Anniversary year presents a good opportunity to highlight the role of NZ Landcare Trust and draw attention to the value Landcare brings to New Zealand.

"The Trust recently conducted a national survey about freshwater management resources which included questions about the value of our work. The feedback about the Trust was overwhelmingly positive with 'independence' and 'credibility' standing out as key features valued by stakeholders."

"The Trust's track record of successfully delivering projects over the last twenty years has given us real credibility, yet we recognise we could not have completed this work alone, so we want to thank everyone who has worked alongside us, especially the farmers, landowners and community groups," James added.

The survey was designed to increase NZ Landcare Trust's understanding of the availability and value of resources aimed at supporting water quality improvement. Results confirmed that information supporting catchment management was of primary interest to stakeholders. This suggests the Trust is heading in the right direction with initiatives such as the national catchment management programme, where the target is to deliver at least one catchment specific project in each region of operation.

Respondents to the survey believed it was important to highlight stories about farmers who have already successfully adopted sustainable farming systems. However the term 'Farm Champion' was not universally supported, with many respondents stating it was counter productive and put too much pressure on the farmers involved. While some farmers might enjoy being labelled a 'Farm Champion' many more would not.

The survey results also highlighted areas such as 'farm planning' where confusion existed over the different types of farm plan and the benefits of having one. While farm leaders valued the plans and saw them as an important resource, it appeared that many farmers did not see them as a priority.

Looking ahead the survey results suggest the Trust has a good foundation to build on, particularly continuing to develop support for community catchment management initiatives. The results also point to interesting new opportunities for the Trust to work with agri-industry and other partners, adding an independent perspective to farm based case studies and developing new resources for farmers that demystify farm planning.

As the twentieth anniversary year unfolds NZ Landcare Trust plans to regularly profile past and present projects, underlining how a Landcare based approach, working alongside communities, can deliver positive change where it matters most - on the ground.

A summary of the survey results is available to download from the NZ Landcare Trust website: www.landcare.org.nz/SurveySummary

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