II - DESCRIPTION OF AGRI-ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES
Agri-environmental programmes are implemented by a variety of central and local government agencies in New Zealand. Of central government agencies, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is responsible for disaster relief, pest control and quarantine, and pesticide registration. Other agencies administer research programmes, funds to protect indigenous forest, and programmes to assist local authorities address environmental issues. These programmes are all detailed below. For central government programmes, expenditure figures exclude Goods and Services Tax (GST) of 12.5% unless otherwise noted.
A variety of regional council agri-environmental activities focus directly on the effects of agriculture on the environment, reflecting the devolution of responsibility in the Resource Management Act. Regional council activities include: regulation of discharges to water; water allocation; habitat conservation; storage and disposal of hazardous chemicals. Individually, these activities do not require substantial budgetary outlays, and consequently there is only limited financial information available. For those activities which involve direct regulation, the more substantial costs are those borne by the resource user in complying with regulation rather than the administrative costs borne by the council.
Other regional council activities seek to mitigate the effects of the environment on farming rather than the reverse. These include flood control and land drainage; weed and pest management; and soil conservation. Although they may now contain many aspects designed to protect the environment, these activities have historically been largely land protection and improvement programmes designed to increase or maintain agricultural production. Detailed financial reporting is readily available on these activities.
Budget figures for sub-national programmes are difficult to identify precisely because of the variety of budget categories used by different local authorities. Regional council expenditures are exclusive of Goods and Services Tax of 12.5%.
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MAF Information Services
Pastoral House
25 The Terrace
PO Box 2526
Wellington, NEW ZEALAND
Fax: +64 4 894 0721
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