Looking after the Environment: Farmers Sharing in the Future
Environmentally Responsible Farming
Being a small island nation has its advantages. Because of its isolation and low population, New Zealand is fortunate in having one of the cleanest environments in the world. New Zealanders value their environment; protecting and improving it is a key government objective. Not only does a clean environment make New Zealand a more pleasant place to live, but it also testifies to the safety of the foods produced in this environment.
New Zealand soils mostly evolved under forests, and tend to be thin and acidic with low levels of nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur. Before they can grow productive pasture or crops, the soils must be improved with fertilisers and nitrogen-fixing plants (usually white clover). Over the past 100 years, New Zealand farmers have increased the area under soil-improving pasture from about 1-2 million hectares to about 14 million hectares. Most of this additional area is planted in exotic grasses (mainly perennial ryegrass, Lolium perenne) with white clover (Trifolium repens), or subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum) in drier areas.
In many areas pastoral agriculture, with its
dense grass coverings and fertiliser application,
has increased the organic carbon content of the
soils, leading to improved water retention and
nutrient cycling capacity. However, in some areas the
soil quality has come under pressure from
over-grazing or too much cultivation and too little
soil replenishment.
Soil erosion has been a major problem on the fragile soils on steep country pastures. Nearly
10 percent of the country is subject to severe or extreme erosion, particularly in the Eastern
North Island, Taranaki and the Southern Alps.
Advances in sustainable land management are beginning
to reduce the impact of erosion, but have not yet eliminated it completely.
The East Coast Forestry project is one
initiative that is working with landowners in the Gisborne region. The scheme, which has been
operating since 1992, uses a tender system to allocate
funds for planting and retiring land. Each application
to the scheme is judged on its cost-effectiveness
in reducing erosion through planting with radiata pine or other species, gully planning and
actively managing the reversion of pastoral land
to indigenous scrub/forest.
But as agriculture is by far the largest land-use activity in New Zealand, it also has the greatest potential to damage the environment. Water use by agriculture and related industries is three times greater than the consumption by all households and industry combined. New Zealand's livestock produce some 40 times the organic waste produced by the human population. In recent decades the agriculture sector has become increasingly aware of these problems, and significant research is now aimed at reducing the contribution of agriculture to water pollution.
New Zealand agriculture, like agriculture around the world, has relied on natural or synthetic pesticides to maintain production. The use of these pesticides has been dictated at least in part by the stringent hygiene requirements of export markets. Farmers in New Zealand have applied these pesticides responsibly, and monitoring of residue levels in food and groundwater shows that the levels are very low and pose no detectable health risk. In spite of this, and because consumers have become increasingly concerned about pesticide residues, the agriculture sector is changing its pattern of pesticide use.
Newer chemicals that target specific pests, decay quickly in the environment, and leave few residues are preferred to older chemicals. Recently, the industry developed an Agrichemical Users Code of Practice and set up the New Zealand Agrichemical Education Trust to educate pesticide users in safe and effective treatment methods. Many farmers are reducing the overall amount of pesticides used through Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies. IPM uses a range of management techniques to reduce the pest burden so that only minimal pesticide application is required for control. Today, all export kiwifruit and most of the export apple crop are produced using IPM techniques. An increasing number of farmers and growers are using organic or biodynamic production systems that attempt to avoid the use of synthetic pesticides altogether.
Groundbreaking Environmental Legislation
The New Zealand government's concern for the environment has led over the past twelve years to two important pieces of legislation: the Resource Management Act (RMA) and the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act (HSNO). The legislation in these Acts is among the most advanced environmental legislation in the world. These Acts are both administered by the Ministry for the Environment. The RMA is implemented by local governments and regional councils. The HSNO Act is implemented principally by the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA New Zealand).
The RMA brings together laws that govern land, air and water, encompassing an ecosystem approach to environmental management. The key themes in the RMA are: sustaining the potential of natural and physical resources; safeguarding the life-supporting capacity of air, water, soil and ecosystems; and avoiding, remedying, or mitigating any adverse effects on the environment.
In addition to domestic legislation, New Zealand is a signatory to key international documents on the environment including the:
- Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol;
- Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD);
- Montreal Protocol (ozone depleting substances);
- Basel Convention on the Control of Transborder Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal.
Helping the Farmer Protect the Environment
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
MAF provides policy
advice to the government on sustainable resource use, MAF is contributing to the
water component of the Sustainable development for New Zealand: Programme of
Action.
MAF is responsible for the overall strategic management of New Zealand's world-leading biosecurity system.
As an isolated nation, New Zealand is heavily reliant on biosecurity programmes to protect its primary production systems, unique flora and fauna and people's health. MAF is New Zealand's lead biosecurity agency. Working closely with other government agencies and stakeholders, it aims to prevent the entry and establishment of new pests, and effectively manage those pests that are already present.
MAF maintains:
- international relationships to recognise and manage emerging risks;
- border control and surveillance systems to detect new pest arrivals;
- capability to identify and eradicate unwanted organisms.
The release in August 2003 of New Zealand's first national Biosecurity Strategy signals a new era for biosecurity, providing a blueprint for the ongoing improvements necessary to meet mounting pressures and heightened public expectations.
Ministry for the Environment
The Ministry for the Environment develops policy on environmental management, and reports on the state of the New Zealand environment. Most of the responsibility for day-to-day environmental management rests with local government, particularly the regional councils. It is part of the Ministry's duties to monitor how well the environmental laws and policies work and advise the government on changes necessary to improve environmental management.
Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA New Zealand)
ERMA New Zealand was set up under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act, 1996 to protect the environment and health and safety of people and communities by preventing or managing the adverse effects of hazardous substances (including agricultural chemicals) and new organisms (including genetically modified organisms). The role of ERMA New Zealand is to consider applications to introduce hazardous substances or new organisms to New Zealand. The Authority is responsible for making sure that the conditions attached to approvals are adhered to. It also monitors enforcement and the general effectiveness of the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act, provides advice to the Minister for the Environment, and promotes public awareness.
Voluntary Initiatives and Market Responses
Because New Zealand farmers and foresters are almost totally exposed to the world markets, the success of their industries depends on responding to market requirements. The demand of consumers for minimum pesticide use, for example, has prompted the move by New Zealand kiwifruit growers to the "Kiwigreen" production system, a low chemical production method, and increasingly to organic production. New Zealand fruit growers have also introduced low-chemical Integrated Pest Management strategies in pipfruit, summerfruit and grape production. Farmers using agricultural chemicals undergo a "Growsafe" training programme to learn about the safe handling, application and disposal of agricultural chemicals.
Other voluntary initiatives include quality assurance systems (QA) developed by the meat and dairy sectors, an integrated wine grape production scheme, and numerous community land management groups.
A fertiliser code of practice has also been developed for the industry and many organisations have taken on the code as part of their own QA or Environmental Management System (EMS). Many local government authorities have made fertiliser application a permitted activity under the Resource Management Act provided the code of practice is followed.
The forest industry has developed a Code of Practice for Forest Harvesting. Most of the large companies have developed their own Environmental Management Systems in recent years, and have ISO 14000 accreditation. The industry has also developed a Verifiable Environmental Performance certification system.
Contact for Enquiries
MAF Information Services
Pastoral House
25 The Terrace
PO Box 2526
Wellington, NEW ZEALAND
Fax: +64 4 894 0721
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