Iwi water rights issue must be resolved

The thorny issue of iwi rights over water must be resolved, otherwise tackling pollution will become ‘‘more difficult, costly and time-consuming’’, a thinktank has warned.

And it says landowners may be taking on this uncertainty as the Government balks at resolving the politically-charged issue.

The Land and Water Forum delivered its fifth and final report to Government yesterday.

It makes a series of recommendations to ministers to try to halt the decline of water quality by 2020.

It also says a moratorium on land use – such as intensive dairying – may be needed to help clean up the most polluted waterways.

The forum also wants a dedicated Land and Water Commission.

It says the lack of progress on iwi rights and interests is a ‘‘critical gap’’ and is creating uncertainty for water users and those trying to manage freshwater.

‘‘It may also be encouraging land owners to enhance their position through regional planning and consent processes.

‘‘This situation is hindering progress towards establishing a more durable freshwater management framework.’’

Some consents set out the maximum amount of nitrogen loss that is allowed to occur from a property.

‘‘Strengthening the rights of some parties prior to resolving iwi rights and interests will be opposed by iwi and make the process of reaching agreement between treaty partners more difficult, time-consuming and costly,’’ the report warns.

The forum notes that some catchments are degrading more quickly than others and the urgency with which councils treat declining quality also varies. ‘‘Councils sometimes lack capacity to deal with urgent water quality issues.’’

It wants the minister and regional councils to quickly identify the most at-risk waterways, the activities that are degrading quality and a ‘‘plan-ofaction’’.

Environment Minister David Parker had also asked the forum on recommendations for dealing with sediment.

Phosphorus is carried into rivers and streams by sediment and the forum says it is a ‘‘significant’’ water quality problem.

Stock near waterways, intensive winter grazing, hill country cropping, building tracks and culverts and poor drainage management can all exacerbate the problem.

The forum, which was set up in 2009, recommends making participation in soil conservation and erosion control problems compulsory.