Land and Water Forum

A Common Direction for Water Management in New Zealand

We have been a member and active participant in the Land and Water Forum since its inception. B+LNZ Director, Kirsten Bryant, is a Trustee of the Forum. We have also been represented on the various working groups looking at specific issues in detail.

The Forum's objective

The Forum’s objective is to develop a shared vision and a common way forward among all those with an interest in water, through a stakeholder-led collaborative process.

The work so far

The first phase of the Forum’s work lasted from August 2009 to August 2010 and resulted in the report A Fresh Start for Freshwater (pdf 1.07MB).

On 18 May 2012, the Forum released the Second Report of the Land and Water Forum (pdf 1.75 MB). It provides a national framework within which Regional Councils will work with their communities and iwi to set freshwater objectives and develop limits for its use. It provides a consistent and transparent process for setting objectives and limits, and one that will lead to effective and enduring outcomes, including greater certainty for investment and development.

On 15 November 2012, the Forum released the Third Report of the Land and Water Forum (pdf, 4 MB) on managing within limits. It recommends integrated decision-making in catchments, continuous improvement of management practices to improve water quality and clearer rights to take and use water within set limits.

In February 2015 Ministers for the Environment and Primary Industries asked the Forum to assist the Government with further development and delivery of water policy reform.

On 27 November 2015 the Forum released the Fourth Report of the Land and Water Forum (pdf, 2.5MB) on how to maximise the economic benefits of freshwater while managing within water quality and quantity limits that are set consistent with the National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management 2014 (NPS-FM). It also recommends exclusion of livestock from waterways on plains and lowland hills, addresses a number of urban issues and suggests tools and approaches to assist the Crown’s exploration of rights and interests with iwi.

By May 2017 the Forum will contribute to the further population of the National Objectives Framework and comment on the overall implementation of the NPS-FM. By December 2017 the Forum will review the overall changes to water policy and its implementation, lessons learned and further work required to achieve the overall objective of improved water management in New Zealand.

Find out more

Visit the Land and Water Forum website.