Landcare Research - Manaaki Whenua

Landcare-Research -Manaaki Whenua

VMO Update Issue 1

Over the next 15 months, we will be collating and consolidating the many insights and learnings that we have gained from central and regional government, Māori organisations, and communities during the last 4½ years.

Policy Briefs

To make our research on freshwater management more accessible, we have developed a series of policy briefs. These can be accessed via the VMO webpages or via Policy Briefing & Guidance Papers.  Some of our recent policy briefs that you may find of interest include:

  • Māori involvement in collaborative processes:
     Regional councils are responsible (under various legislation and policy) for ensuring that iwi and hapū are fully involved in collaborative planning and decision making for freshwater management. Policy Brief 10: Māori Involvement in Collaborative Freshwater Planning recommends that Māori be invited to exercise the co-governance role of Treaty of Waitangi partner by joining the council as co-sponsor of the collaborative process; however, it also cautions that collaborative processes will not always be the best way to engage with iwi/hapū and stresses the importance of the Treaty of Waitangi and associated legislation.
  • Designing policy:
    There is a fundamental structure to natural resource policy problems. Policy Brief 11: Designing Policy to Change the use of Natural Resources outlines three stages in the policy design process. Understanding these stages helps policy designers to focus on the right information at the right times.
  • Allocating nutrient caps:
    There is no universal ‘best’ approach for allocating nutrients to landowners. Efficiency and equity criteria can help; implications depend on existing land use, land characteristics, and the stringency of regulations. These findings are outlined in Policy Brief 12: Sharing the Pie.

Survey of Rural Decision Makers

LogoThe second ‘Survey of Rural Decision Makers’ was launched in early July. The survey collects comprehensive information on land use and land-management practices, demographics, labour and income, farmer networks, values, goals, and adaptation. You can find the results from the 2013 survey on the Landcare Research website.

Items from our networks

NZPI Workshop – RMA planning context and the implications of the NPS-FM:

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