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The Ihenja Gully is an example of actively eroding land on the East Coast, with more than 1,850 erosional gullies in the area.
photo: LDR / Supply
The Gisborne Land Reclamation Project has received positive feedback from the Eastland Timber Council and environmental groups.
Farmers and forestry companies in the region could end up with designated land they cannot operate under new council plans.
Council chief executive Nedine Thatcher Swann said they were looking at more accurately identifying and managing erosion risks at Tai Rāwhiti.
The council report refers to “cover layer 3B” as “the most eroded land in the area”.
Gisborne District Council aims to “mark” these areas through identification, requiring some livestock and forestry owners to convert their land to permanent vegetative cover.
A parliamentary report said land use changes “became evident in the impact of cyclones Hale and Gabrielle in early 2023”.
Cover tier 3B is an extension of the current land cover framework in the Tairāwhiti Resource Management Plan (TRMP).
Gisborne District Council asked Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research to help determine which areas of the region had a higher likelihood of landslides and whether those landslides would affect waterways.
The map will be completed by March 2024, according to the council report.
“The model draws on advanced technology and builds on previous regional research,” Thatcher Swan said in a statement.
“It uses data collected across the region to analyse where landslides are occurring and their potential to impact waterways.”
Eastland Timber Council (EWC) chief executive Philip Hope said they received the database a week ago and were still working out what it meant for EWC members.
“Preliminarily we think this is a significant improvement over previous maps of Tai Rāwhiti.
“Our industry is meeting with Gisborne District Council to better understand this information, including how it was developed.”
Hope said it takes time to understand the data and communicate with members to form a view on the model.
“We anticipate it will have a significant impact on how all lands are managed in the future and think it could be a useful tool as our region works towards increasingly sustainable land uses such as decommissioning, restoration and conversion – as well as maintaining the status quo where appropriate.”
He said the EWC would continue to work with the council, iwi and New Zealand’s indigenous tribes to promote sustainable land use and planning in Tai Rāwhiti.
Mana Taiao Tairāwhiti (MTT), a Gisborne group that has launched a petition calling for changes to land use rules, said it was pleased to see the release of the new landslide susceptibility and connectivity maps.
“It’s great to see these maps have been produced by scientists who know the area well, using the latest tools to categorise the risk per square metre in Tairāwhiti,” co-founder Tui Warmenhoven said.
“Now we can have a robust science-based debate about what commercial activities, if any, are consistent with the well-being of our land, waterways and coastal marine areas.”
MTT said he was also encouraged to hear that the committee will investigate the economic, social, cultural and environmental impacts of the rule changes.
MTT spokesman Manu Caddie said: “It is important to understand who and what these changes will impact – both positively and negatively on specific streams and rivers, but also on residents, ratepayers, farmers and overseas owners of pine plantations.”
Local Democracy Report reached out to the Federation Farmers’ Group for comment but the coalition was unable to provide comment when requested.
According to a council statement, the council will work with Tangata Whenua, landowners and communities to identify which lands fall within the 3B catchment area and come up with options for land management in those areas.
– LDR is a local news organisation jointly funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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