Review panel appointed
Eight independent experts have been appointed to lead a technical review of the Overseer environmental modelling software, the Ministries for the Environment and Primary Industries announced today.
The Overseer work is a major part of efforts to improve decision-making tools for use on-farm.
Panel members were selected based on their depth of knowledge and their collective range of skills and perspectives.
“The eight independent and internationallyrecognised environmental specialists will look ‘under the bonnet’ of Overseer to critically assess its modelling capability and explore potential improvements for its use,” says Ministry for the Environment deputy secretary — water and climate change, Cheryl Barnes.
“The panel’s conclusions and assessments will be critical to New Zealand’s future approach to land management. We must be confident that Overseer is the right tool to drive sound land management decisions and improve freshwater quality.”
The group was selected after a rigorous process involving New Zealand’s chief science advisor, Juliet Gerrard, and the chief scientists from the two ministries.
The review consists of two parts.
The first will be an assessment of whether Overseer’s modelling approach is fit to use as a decision-making and regulatory tool and, if so, which aspects should be subject to a more in-depth review.
Its inaugural meeting is on March 30 and its report back on this part is expected in late 2020.
The review’s second part is dependent on these findings, and would take place over a year.
Related work to build knowledge to strengthen Overseer is also commencing, says Ministry for Primary Industries acting deputy directorgeneral — policy and trade, Ruth Fairhall.
An additional $4 million per year has been allocated to a new contestable fund to commission longerterm research to develop and evaluate new technologies and systems to improve freshwater quality.
“More knowledge about different farming and growing technologies will enable us to fine-tune environmental models including Overseer to more accurately calculate potential impacts of different land management practices,” says Ruth.
In addition, funding has been allocated to extend the coverage of S-Map across New Zealand.
S-Map is a digital soil map for New Zealand that collates a range of data and information.
Produced by Manaaki Whenua — Landcare Research, S-Map is one of the underlying databases that Overseer draws on and is used by regional councils in environmental modelling.
“We want to support farmers and growers to have greater confidence in their decisionmaking,” says Ruth.
“The collaboration between government and industry, combined with leading-edge science, will ensure environmental models can be applied at the grassroots level for better freshwater management decisions.”
Plans to review and improve Overseer predate and complement recommendations of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment to ensure Overseer is suitable as a regulatory tool.