Making time to consider the bigger picture

It’s always good to get out on the farm after a busy round of meetings and other Environment Southlandrelated activities, and clear my head. It’s an opportunity to reflect on some of the complex and difficult issues we face and to consider the bigger picture and end goals.

When those goals are intergenerational, they usually require change, which takes people out of their comfort zones. I think when that’s the case, we all draw on our life experiences to find a way forward.

Two issues have been on my mind over the past couple of weeks, both of which have an allof-Southland focus, requiring leadership and a united team approach to be successful.

The first issue requires the combined councils of Southland to agree on an enduring structure to deliver on the Southland Regional Development Strategy (SoRDS) Action Plan, following its successful launch last year; and in light of the hope and expectations for a bright and sustainable future for Southland that it raised.

How this structure might look and work, is currently being worked through.

The second issue: How do we focus all of Southland so that everyone is committed to playing their part in doing the things we know will improve water quality?

In response to that question l find myself drawing on my learnings from an Outward Bound course I did back in 1972. It involved 14 individuals from all walks of life, hungry and beginning to suffer from mild exposure, facing what appeared to be an impossible task. Yet, we were able to transform into a team with a common goal (it’s amazing what a hot meal can do!), who worked together to achieve the seemingly impossible. That lesson has never left me.

We see the same kind of thing in our top sports teams. Now, it is time to show our strength as an allof-Southland team. That means we need to stop any finger pointing and all play our part, then, nothing is impossible.

This coming week, with the hearings for the proposed Water and Land Plan continuing in Gore, and the political silly season upon us in the lead-up to the election, water will continue to have a high profile in Southland, and nationally.

While the publicity isn’t always positive, the council will not be distracted from our responsibility to work towards maintaining and improving water quality in Southland.

Right now we are finalising our strategic plan, which will be soundly based on the four pillars of environmental, economic, cultural, and social considerations.

We will continue to work with farmers, industries and councils to improve the impact of their activities on water quality.

This will require an investment by everyone. We know that our local councils will need to improve their sewerage and stormwater infrastructures and we are talking with them now to ensure they factor the cost of this into their 30-year plans, so it is manageable for communities.

Peter Gluckman’s recent report on water quality in New Zealand makes some comments that are very much in tune with Environment Southland’s thinking. In particular, that focusing on actions and strategies that will actually improve water quality is more important than simply focusing on the numbers, for example, levels of nutrients.

Some regional councils around the country who have been through the catchment limit setting process are telling us they wished they had started implementing initiatives to improve water quality much earlier in the process.

Our council will be considering this information as we firm up our next stage of the People, Water and Land work programme during the next couple of months. After that, we will keen to hear the community’s views on it.

I’d like to extend my thanks to all the submitters on the proposed Southland Water and Land Plan for putting in time and effort. Your concerns and suggestions will all be considered and have an impact on the final shape of the plan. Even if you have not submitted, you are very welcome to attend and listen to the issues being raised. It’s sure to be a very interesting experience.

It was good to attend the Ballance National Sustainability Showcase at the end of May. It is the first time the showcase has been held in Southland and it was really uplifting and encouraging to hear these environmental and economic champions’ stories from all over the country. We should not discount the positive flow-on effect these farming families have on their communities and regions.

By the time this goes to print, my wife Anne and I will have arrived in Noosa to catch up with family before flying to Cairns to check out the Great Barrier Reef for a few days. After some of the good frosts we’ve experienced recently, I’m looking forward to a few days of the summer we never really had this year. Nicol Horrell is chairman of Environment Southland