Land Resources
Looking across Ōnawe Peninsula, Akaroa Harbour (Cissy Pan).
National Outcome: Achieve the sustainable use of land resources and their ecosystem services across catchments and sectors.
For this Outcome, we partner with both the primary sector and the national and regional authorities responsible for policy, regulation and operational decisions relating to land management, land use planning and optimisation, primary sector productivity, freshwater standards and allocation of water resources. Increasingly, we also work with Māori sector partners, such as Te Tumu Paeroa, Māori trusts and collectives, and iwi and hapū to support the development of Māori-owned land.
Our research focuses on 1) mapping soil and land resources at much finer scales than previously documented, and 2) developing new methods to assess and manage the ecosystem services that support the economy and our well-being. These data are key to identifying opportunities to improve land and water management. Our capabilities in the land resources area are complemented by strong informatics skills in accessing and analysing environmental information, mapping and geospatial visualisations, and making these data more widely and directly accessible.
The National Land Resource Centre, the ‘Lincoln Hub’ and the Our Land and Water National Science Challenge are critical to supporting ‘green growth’ in the primary sector while maintaining the intrinsic environmental and cultural values of the ‘New Zealand brand’.
Impact 2.1
The status and trends of land resources and ecosystem services (including their interactions) are known and understood.
Impact 2.2
Opportunities and threats to land resources are recognised and balanced to maintain or enhance the provision of ecosystem services.
