DOC and councils team up to tackle pests

The battle to manage pest plants and animals in the Lower North Island is heating up, with the Department of Conservation (DOC) and regional councils joining forces to protect the regions natural assets.

In areas like the Ruahine Ranges, the spread of wilding conifers is altering the landscape and reducing natural water flow to surrounding agricultural lowlands. Tackling this problem, like other pest control programmes, is a big job that crosses council and landowner boundaries. As part of a new pest accord, DOC and three regional councils will begin working more closely together to manage these kinds of issues.

The Chief Executives of Greater Wellington Regional Council, Horizons Regional Council, Hawkes Bay Regional Council and DOC signed the first Lower North Island Pest Management Accord last month.

DOCs director-general Lou Sanson says the Accord will pave the way for more effective management of pests across the Lower North Island.

"The accord will see the four agencies working together from the planning stage, meaning we are all thinking bigger in terms of what we can achieve and coordinating work across the wider region. The Accord will bring benefits to the whole community by protecting the natural capital - water, soil, vegetation - which underpins the economic and social prosperity of the regions."

"DOC is already working with each of these councils individually on pest control projects, but this Accord takes that to the next level. It will enable much greater outcomes for conservation across the whole region."

Horizons Regional Council chairman Bruce Gordon says the Accord provides a basis for a collaborative effort across the Lower North Island in the management of pest plants and animals.

"By having the three regional councils and DOC on board we can discuss initiatives together such as those concerning the Ruahines and coordinate the management of possums across boundaries. In that way we can reduce the threat to our native plants and animals, while protecting against production loss throughout the Horizons region."

The Pest Accord is the latest outcome of a formal conservation partnership between the three regional councils and DOC, which was agreed in December 2011.

Lou Sanson says the partnership has opened the door to much closer collaboration across the agencies.

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DOC and councils team up to tackle pests