BP Oil Crisis

The oil spill that occured a month ago continues today. It has had plenty of environmental effects. The oil in the water decreases the oxygen level in the water and kills the species present in the sea. The oil spill hasn't been stopped because they cannot get to the cause and also they need permission to stop it from the CEO of BP etc. This issue continues today because there are too many people involoved. What they should do is just the oil switch off which will stop anymore oil coming out until they fix the problem.
Below is a link to the latest news about this issue.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jun/02/oil-spill-bp-gulf-of-mexico

New Zealand Theme Park Planned for China

A New Zealand theme park is planned for China and is expected to be completed at the end of this year. A group of Chinese developers are in the country to discuss their idea. They are working with the Awataha community whom are doing the traditional carvings for them. This has generated employment for the community as their is a lot of work that needs to be done. Carvings that take a few years to do are being completed and shipped over in a few months, therefore 100+ jobs have been created.
The park is called "The New Zealand Gardens" that is set on a 25km square site. It has rock climbing, a gondala and luge which is similar to the one in Rotorua. Visitors will experience New Zealands agriculture with a vineyard, a kiwifruit orchard, dairy farm and a golf course with accomodation.
Eric Korewha a master carver from Awataha says "Its a great opportunity for the rest of the world to know about our culture".

I found this news interesting because it is something different. People around the world get to experience our culture without having to fly all the way to New Zealand. The one thing that makes me wonder is will this encourage or discourage people from coming to New Zealand because if people experience it in China why would they want to fly all the way here. However, we shall find out when the park opens later this year. I think its a great project as long as our tourist numbers do not drop.

Project Twin Streams

Project Twin Steams is a project that is being done by Waitakere City which is located in West Auckland. The purpose of the project is to restore 56km of the stream by revegetating, cleaning it up and looking after it as it has been deteriating over the last few years.The project started in 2003 and it is a continous project. Waitakere City Council is closely working with the communities that surround the streams by educating them and getting them involved in things like planting days. Students from the West Auckland schools are also getting involved and many geography teachers are using it as a project base so students can learn about the importance of streams and how they play an important role in our environment.
Below is a link to the Project Twin Stream website where all the information is easily layed out.

http://www.waitakere.govt.nz/abtcit/ne/twinstreams.asp#whatis

Waterview Project Bridges Studies

This article from the New Zealand Herald I found interesting as it is concerned with the new waterview project which they are building a new motorway. It is concerned with whether they should build a cycle/walkway for cyclists and pedestrians.
Follow the link below to find out a bit more information about the projetct.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/news/print.cfm?objectid=10645442

Chelsea Sugar Refinary and The District Plan

Above is a zone map of the Chelsea area which is in the pink area. This assignment we did in year two of our degree and the purpose of it was to create a new district plan for the area for alternative land use if the factory operation was to close down.

The Chelsea site has significant local and regional value because it is located on the Waitamata Harbour and also because it has a lot of heritage and environmental value that needs to be protected.

How we approached this assignment is the land around the Waitamata Harbour has a lot of value because it has very good views and because it is close to the Central Business District. Therefore, what we proposed is to have a mixed use residential and light commercial area within the site. This would allow for an area to hold a fair amount of population since the population projection for Auckland by the year 2050 is 2million (but it could be more) and also it would allow for ferry use because there will be a population to support it allowing the whole area of Birkenhead to use it.
Strategic planning was required and we have to keep all the heritage A buildings how they are therefore they will be used for commercial use and also the tall building would be used as a viewing tower.

This assignment i believe I learnt a lot it was not easy but writing up a district plan never is easy.

Below is a link if you would like to view the group assignment and the land use proposal for the Chelsea Site if the Chelsea Sugar Factory closes down.
Enjoy... (I hope it works)

http://docs.google.com/DocAction?action=updoc&hl=en

Freemans Bay Redevelopment Plan

During our first year of planning we were required to put together a report and make a model for a section in Freemans Bay which is located in Ponsonby Auckland. The purpose of this assignment was to increase the population that is living within the block of Freemans Bay due to population projection increase. We had to use what we learned throughout that semester about different housing typologies and and urban design principles and integrate them into the final report and model. We used a lot of Bentley's and Alexanders principles to create our final model.

The building of the model was very fun because the whole group got involved and we had to create the contours of the land by scale as well as they different typologies and down to the detail even the trees. We had to buy our material apart from the cardboard to make these models. Our report contain information about our redevelopment and why we chose to do it the way we did. Overall, I enjoyed this studio project it was the first time i actually made something like this and the end result was something we were all proud of. Below are photos of our proposal for the redevelopment.



Looking through a private street

Four story building



Birds Eye View of the redevelopment proposal

Student Loan Interest Rates are Returning for New Zealand Students?

John Key says that students need to respect the taxpayer funding. He says that the interest free scheme costs $1.5 billion per annum. Looking at this from a student point of view, i believe that National should not bring back interest to our student loans. We students already walk out with a pretty large debt when we graduate why should we get into more debt. Also what isn't fair is the fact that our most parents and lecturers did not have to pay for their tertiary education because back in those days it was free. Now that the student generation have to they want to make it harder for us it just isn't fair at all. He argues to say that we don't respect the taxpayer funding, well most of the students have jobs therefore we are taxpayers too. We understand and know that there are people out there that have hard jobs but that is why we are educating ourselves so we have brighter futures. I have nothing against the people that are working hard and only getting paid the minimum wage (maybe National should do something about the minimum wage instead) but i do not believe that there should be interest put back into our loans.

This is a very side topic to planning but it still effects us students because we are the future planners and it will effect us. I just thought I would make a post about it because it is important.

Third largest Dam got the green light to be built in the Amazon

Above is a map that shows the impact that the dam will have on the area.

Building the third largest dam in the world is having a lot of debate by environmentalist and also the director of the movie Avatar James Cameron. They believe that the dam should not be built because it will have huge implications on the amazon and it is the worlds largest rain forest and it should not be destroyed. The Amazon forest has the largest number or species that could have medical cures.
I believe that the rain forest should not be destroyed because we are going through the huge issue of climate change. If we destroy such a large area of vegetation it will impact the natural cycle that exists and will affect the world in time.

Below are a few links about this issue

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/02/02/massive-hydroelectric-dam-project-in-the-amazon-will-go-ahead/

http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_round_up/409151/brazil_to_build_worlds_third_largest_dam_in_amazon.html

http://www.pej.org/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=8085&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

Muriwai

Muriwai sand dunes are eroding away due to natural causes. Auckland City Council are working together with the community and volunteers to prevent anymore loss of dunes by replanting native vegetation such as spinafex and pingao. Erosion is evident in the car park located by the cliff. A local resident says that the car park has eroded about 2 meters in the last few years and it will continue to if nothing is done. He also says that the local golf course has signs of erosion as part of it has been built on the back of the sand dune. He argues that planting 15,000 spinafex that the council has proposed is a waste of time. Reason being is that the spinafex will stablise the first few feet of the sand dune and as soon as a swell comes it will erode the bottom and that stabilization that has occurred over time will be lost. He believes that a wall breaker that is not just a brick wall but a wall similar to a spiky ball would do the trick because it will break the swell and the wall would not collapse. He has seen these in Europe around Spain he says.

Personally, i would agree with him about the re-plantation of spinafex, all it does it stablise the top of the dune and not the bottom. Planting is a short term fix but i do not believe in building a wall either because it will damage the natural look of the coastline.

Suburbia

Looking at these images that were taken in America flying from Houston to Los Angeles I stop to think if this is what most of our world will turn into. Symmetrical houses with the same amount of land. It looks very fake it reminds me something out of Desperate Housewives.
I just thought i would share this because it is interesting how the planners that planned this area thought. It seems like they were very logical and it seemed easier for them to do this than make any other variety within the area.
We as planning students have always been taught that cul-de-sacs are bad because they waste land and do not connect to anywhere it is just a dead end. However, in this situation they went over board with them.

Meritocracy does it really exist?

This essay I wrote in my first year of my planning degree. If you work hard will you always succeed? Well i believe it is true, if you put your mind to what you want to achieve you will. This essay explains my argument. I use one my favorite books to illustrate my answer too.

Introduction
Meritocracy is an important idea in today’s society. It refers to the belief that social rewards of prestige and income are distributed based on merit and not by predetermined social categories (McLennan, 2004). “Work hard and you will succeed”, is a statement based on meritocracy or the belief of an individuals effort to become someone despite their social mobility.
This is a true statement, which can be seen through two individuals lives; Rabbit in the movie 8 Mile (2002) and Li Cunxin in the memoir Mao's Last Dancer (2003). Both of the young individuals have come from a low economic status. Social mobility, the movement of groups from one level to another, (Newman, 2002) seemed minimal from the audiences' point of view and everything, even the world seemed against them. With Rabbit's and Li's determination, motivation and ambitious approach to get out of the state they were in with their families they pushed themselves to the top. They battled through the obstacles that stopped them from reaching their goals, and this shows no matter what social class you belong to, if you work hard you will succeed.
This essay will look at how Rabbit and Cunxin succeeded in their lives, and how many other people are doing the same to get out of the poverty cycle. Both case studies are based in America therefore it will also look at how both individuals see America as the “Land of Opportunity”.

Succeeding Though Low Socio-economic Conditions
8 Mile is set in Detroit, America during the 90s when the automobile industry left Detroit as it was cost effective for them to manufacture in Mexico. People lost their jobs and the city fell apart. The title of the movie refers to the Eight Mile Road, which forms the boundary between African Americas, and the cities mostly white northern suburbs. The term 8 Mile therefore represents a barrier that is difficult to cross in Detroit.

Rabbit, is a young man trying to make his way out of the burned-out shell of inner city Detroit (8 Mile, Hanson, 2002). He struggles with every aspect of his life, and wants to make the most of what could be his final opportunity. However, the problems around him give him doubts about his chances of success. Everything around him is diminishing away. There seemed to be no hope for Rabbit as he has been trapped into the low social class and for him to move up through the stratification levels would be impossible. The fact that there is no hope in Detroit anymore due to the mass movement of businesses out of the city makes the economy hard to run and it fails dramatically.

Looking at Rabbit as an individual living in Detroit at this time, we see a young man who wants to get out of there and become someone. “Do you ever wonder at what point you got to stop living up here and start living down here?” This quote by Rabbit shows that he is thinking and talking to his friends about a better life and how it would be to live on the other side of 8 Mile. This also links back to the American Dream and how America is seen as the “land of opportunity”."The American Myth still supposes that any individual from the humblest origins can climb to well-being" (Shipler, D.K. 2005). This quote from Shipler (2005) is clearly describing the environment Rabbit is in. It is far from perfect but due to the American Myth, Rabbit can still succeed if he puts his mind to it. Rabbit does succeed, he wins a rap competition. Today he is a famous rapper who has come from having nothing to having everything he desires. He succeeded because he has worked hard not because he paid his way through.

Succeeding Through Cultural and Traditional Barriers
Mao's Last Dancer is set in Qingdao China during the time China was a Communist country. Li Cunxin is an inspirational individual who worked hard to get out of the bitter poverty cycle he and his family were in. The poverty in his home town of Qingdao was so bad that at times they did not have enough food to eat so they had to eat tree bark to survive. What kept his family of nine going was the love from the parents and the support for their children.

Ever since Li was young, he always had hope for the future. He always thought positively no matter what was going on around him. An important quote from his memoir was when he said, “Secretly I had a dream that one day I would be able to sing and do the Kung Fu steps at the opera”. However, he never shared his dream with anyone. This was because he knew they would just say he is dreaming and his “Life lay in the commune fields as a labourer”.

When he got chosen to go to Mao's Beijing Dance Academy to become a ballet dancer, he and his community were overwhelmed. Li was 11 when he left home, this was his first step out of the poverty cycle and he started his seven-year dance course. He practiced his pirouettes and leaps night and day as he wanted to accomplish his dream to become the best ballet dancer in the world. He knew that he could not turn back to his parents as they always said, “Work hard and make a life of your own. There is nothing here except starvation and struggle”. This quote goes back to the statement, “Work hard and you will succeed”. It shows that his parents and even Li believed in it. They believed, if Li does really well in the dance academy that he will eventually be able to help his family.

Li knew he was the only hope for his family so they can get out of the socio-economic status that they were in. Li did extremely well. He ended up going to America to dance and there he stayed to become a famous dancer. He helped his family economically and they had more food on the table every night. Li became one of the top ballet dancers in the world and he had accomplished his dream. This blend of affect and morality rests on the assumed importance of values such as individual self-reliance, obedience, discipline and hard work, (Augoustinos, M. Tuffins, K. and Every, D. 2005). This all goes back to the idea of meritocracy and the statement if you work hard you will succeed. In addition, it also reflects the fulfillment of the American Dream that anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

Succeeding Through a Positive Attitude
The task of Sociology Imagination is to help us view our lives as the intersection between personal biography and societal history, to provide a means for us to interpret our lives and social circumstances, (Newman, D.M. 2002). This idea means that everything depends on the person’s attitude. No matter what circumstances they are in, if they want to succeed then they will. People have done it before and continue to do so. We have to remember that there are people worse off than us and people that are better off. If we compare ourselves with others, it should hopefully make us want to work harder as we want to be better off. This is what happened in Rabbit's and Cunxin's lives. Even though many factors such as social mobility, education, socio-economic conditions, and health were against them, they still managed to succeed as they were determined to move up the stratification levels of class. “Having the right attitude” is associated with qualities such as being ambitious, energetic, motivated, and trustworthy. It may also involve more subtle traits such as good judgment, and a sense of personal responsibility, (McNamee, S. and Miller, R. 2004). This all goes back to the person’s attitude towards life and how they cope with difficult situations. It also goes back to the statement “Work hard and you will succeed”, as the two individuals had the right attitude to get themselves out of the low socio-economic conditions and many more people today are doing the same.

Conclusion
Overall, meritocracy is an important idea in today’s society and it can be seen in the two individuals’ lives, Rabbit and Cunxin. Meritocracy is based on the statement “Work hard and you will succeed”. Individual factors better explain the visual success as we can examine them much more easily than we can examine environmental factors. If people work hard, and have the right attitude the likely chances of them succeeding despite everything else is very high. An important quote that can symbolise this is, “Success only comes before work in the dictionary”.

Reference List
Augoustinos, M. Tuffins, K. and Every, D. (2005) New racism, meritocracy and individualism: constraining affirmative action in education, Discourse & Society, vol 13(3): pp 315- 340

Cunxin, L. (2003) Mao's Last Dancer, Australia: Penguin.

Curtis, H. (2002) 8 Mile, America: Universal Studios.

McLennan, G. Ryan, A. and Spoonley, P. (2004) Exploring Society: Sociology for New Zealand Students, 2nd Ed. Auckland: Pearson Education New Zealand.

McNamee, S. and Miller, R. (2004) The Meritocracy Myth, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc, United States of America.

Newman, D. and Harper, D. (2002a) The Sociological Imagination [Excerpt], in Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life, Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press, 8-9.

Shipler, D.K. (2005) The Working Poor: Invisible in America, (1st Vintage Books ed.). New York: Vintage Books.

Looking at Te Hana like a real Planner

As a student planner we visited our new study area Te Hana a small town that is located north of Auckland on State Highway 1.

We as a class were traditionally welcome on their land through a Maori Powhiri. This is very unique to New Zealand and it is an experience that everyone should experience. After the Powhiri they people of the land explained what there aim of the Te Hana project was. They also told us the history of Te Hana, what the area was like before and what they want int to be.

The Aim of the project is to make Te Hana a more vibrant area that the local people can be proud of and to encourage people to stop into Te Hana and learn about the culture. They are trying to achieve something along the lines of Rotorua. They also want to increase the employment numbers and reduce crime rates to name a few. The people that are in charge of this project are the Te Hana Charitable Trust that is made up of the people that live within the community.

The Te Hana Charitable Trust work for their community, hold meetings and work with the councils to get what they want for their project. There project is a 17th Century Village this is a tourist attraction. It will teach tourist about Maori culture. The way this is being funded is through mainly fundraising.

The group i am in is the funding group. Our aim is to fundraise $2000 NZD for the community and also write up a booklet about how other communities can get fundraising.
I personally think this project is more realistic than anything else we have done because we get to experience what planners do which is listening to the community about what they want rather than telling them what they should have.

Are the laws in New Zealand concerning underage drinking strong enough?

This Essay was written in my second year of my degree. The purpose of it was to look at public policy and see how effect it was. Public policy is an important topic in planning because we help to create them. The reason I did underage drinking is there are laws saying you cannot drink legally until you turn 18 (this is in New Zealand) however we get so many teens drinking anyway. Many of our young people die on the road due to drink driving and I wanted to explore the policies in place to see how effective they are.

In today’s society government enacts laws, make policies and allocate resources. Government creates laws and policies to benefit their citizens and achieve the greatest good for the greatest number. Public policy can be generally defined as a system of laws, regulatory measures and course of actions that require funding. Public policy is based on our values and ideas. Individuals and groups such as communities endeavor to shape public policy this is usually done through education, advocacy or targeting interest groups. Advocacy groups tend to educate the public and the policy makers of the general problem that needs to be addressed. A current issue in New Zealand affecting specifically the youth but can affect the rest of the general public is underage drinking. This essay will look at the laws that have been enacted with this issue, also it will look at the policies and it will look at what the government wants to do about the issue in the foreseeable future. Last of all it will look at the effectiveness of the laws and policies and whether or not they are working or if we need to take another approach to this issue.

Underage drinking has been an issue for a very long time. Previously the drinking age in New Zealand was 20 but a policy regime changed it to 18 in the year 1999. A policy regime is the underlying structure through which policy is formed, policy regimes tend to be stable and change slowly (Howlett and Ramesh, 2004). Underage drinking occurs because young people see it as being “cool” if they drink before they turn 18 which is the legal drinking age in New Zealand. Underage drinking usually occurs because of peer pressure at parties which could turn tragic, or parents buy their children alcohol at times this could also be tragic depending if the underage person is drinking under supervision or not. The reason there is a drinking age is because government decided that anyone under 18 is not mature enough to drink as it can lead to stupidity and deadly consequences. Also, at 18 you are classed an adult and you are responsible for you actions. There are many points of views on this as some people do not believe that at 18 you should be able to drink but there are always different views for all policies and laws that affect the public. Alcohol consumption by teenagers has turned into a binge drinking culture also known as drinking until you are completely intoxicated and do not know what you are doing. Drinking at a young age has health impacts such as short term effects for example blurred vision, vomiting, and loss of orientation. There are also long term effects for example liver poisoning, damage to the nervous system, cardiovascular disease, and alcohol poisoning this is just naming a few. Therefore, we need to try and reduce underage drinking to reduce chronic alcohol health damage for them in the future.

Policy actors are important in changing or modifying policies and laws. Policy actors are “Institutions both inside and outside government actively engaged in implementing and modifying policies (Harris and Milkis, 1989, Eisner, 1994a, 1994b in Howlett and Ramesh, 2002: 32).

A mandate has been established this is an unwritten and unspoken social contract or settlement between the state and society. This is when society allows the state to make the right laws and decisions for them and it will benefit the whole nation. Laws associated with alcohol are; Sales of Liquor Act 1989 the purpose of it is to restrict the sale of liquor to anyone that is a minor or to anyone that is intoxicated acting in a manner where the alcohol could put them at more risk. If this Act is breached the person or company selling the alcohol could be faced with a fine up to $10,000. If you are also buying alcohol for someone under the age of 18 you could be faced with a fine up to $2000. The reason these penalties exist is to discourage underage drinking as it is dangerous for the health and wellbeing of the youth drinking as they are still developing mentally and physically.

The Press, a New Zealand newspaper interviewed hospitals around the country and they said that during Thursday, Friday and Saturday night they reported at least one third of alcohol related problems in emergency department and they would like to see the alcohol age pushed back up to 20 as many of these accidents involve underage drinkers. The age of intoxicated people arriving at the department had dropped noticeably over the past decade; with the youngest being about 12 said a doctor from Christchurch hospital. Also, a survey done by ALAC an alcohol ogranisation in New Zealand found out that 48% of 14-17 year olds have participated in binge drinking in the past two weeks. This shows that the current law is not preventing underage drinking as there are no direct harsh penalties for them due to the fact that they are underage. In addition, it is not enforced easily as there are many loop-holes within the system given that not everyone knows about the penalties that exist.

Ministry of Health launched a National Drug Policy in 2007. This is a five year framework to prevent and reduce harm from alcohol, tobacco and other harmful drugs. "There is a culture of binge drinking among youth in New Zealand. The reality is that young people are reflecting the drinking attitudes and behaviours of adult New Zealanders and we have to acknowledge that this is part of the problem and redefine ourselves as a nation to get away from the pride we seem to have in our 'hard-drinking' culture", said Mr Anderton a member of The Ministry of Health Department. This policy wants to control the supply by reducing the circumstances that alcohol and other legal drugs can be sold in for example reducing the number of places alcohol can be sold in, demand by trying to reduce the peoples need or desire to want the drugs and to reduce the problems within communities by educating different groups within our society. There are still three years of this policy to fulfill the purpose of it, however in the past two years there does not seem to have been many changes apart from advertising of alcohol beverages on the television has reduced dramatically and drink driving ads have increased this is due to government coercion which is when the government tries to influence behavior. In addition, drink driving accident deaths have reduced since 1990 where there were 1700 deaths but in 2008 there were 572 deaths; however drink driving accidents have increased with prolonged injuries this is usually most present within younger divers (Ministry of Transport, 2009).

The government as an actor is looking into changing policies related to buying alcohol. They want to prohibited anyone under the age of 20 from buying alcohol from liquor stores or supermarkets however if you are 18 or 19 you can still buy alcohol from bars and restaurants. They also want to increase the cost of alcohol by putting higher taxes on it. This could affect the policy actors such as the alcohol retailers, it could reduce the amount they sell and could potentially affect the hospitality sectors such as restaurants bars and clubs. There have been different points of views about government allowing 18 and 19 year olds to buy alcohol in bars and restaurants but not in liquor stores. Reason being is that majority of the issues concerned with drinking occur in town on a Friday and Saturday night. Drunken driving, violence just to name a few issues occur then so if the government really wants to make a difference maybe the drinking age should be raised to 20 again. A co-operative mandate is occurring around this issue at the moment where the government and society are working together to come to a conclusion, this is done through consultation and government listening to the submissions from the society of what they think should happen.

The effectiveness of the laws and policies in place in New Zealand today concerned with underage drinking is minimal. As the essay has discussed there are flaws within the system and if the laws and policies really did work we would not have underage drinking today. The policy regime that happened in 1999 that lowered the drinking age seemed like the wrong choice because now we are getting 12 year old children drinking. What the government wants to do now which is not allow anyone under the age of 20 to buy alcohol from supermarkets or liquor stores but 18/19 can buy alcohol from restaurants, bars, and clubs does not seem very effective to decreasing underage drinking because 18/19 year olds can still drink. Also, the general public have to agree with this policy as it will be affecting them but some may think why not just raise the drinking age back to 20 again because that way police can easily patrol intoxicated underage drinkers. In addition, for underage drinking not to occur there needs to be harsher penalties for the youth committing the crime otherwise they will continue to drink. Penalties such as community service, fines, restrictions where they can go for example school, home as they will be monitored by police this will make them think twice before they drink as their freedom could be taken of them. The most effective way to do this is to integrate public policy procedures. First there needs to be a strong public policy based on underage drinking that the government initiates, then the government needs to consult the public and a co-operative mandate needs to be established where the government and society work together to create the greatest good for the greatest number. A policy regime will need to occur to change the policies and laws that exist now and that will be done by the government as they are the mandate.

Overall, the laws and policies in place at the moment in New Zealand concerning underage drinking are not very effective. The reason being is that youth drinking has been rising and it will continue to increase if nothing is done. The laws and policies do not have very harsh penalties and the fact that not many average citizens know about the fines in place for breaching the laws they will continue to serve minors alcohol or buy them alcohol. It seems like some communities have just adapted to youth drinking and it’s just seen as the norm but this is not good and the government needs to step in and change or improve the laws and policies otherwise our young people will get sick or die and we need to protect our future generations to run this country.



Reference:
Howlett, M & Ramesh, M. (2003) Studying Public Policy: Policy Cycles and Policy Subsystems, (2nd ed.). Don Mills.: OUP.
The Press, (22/8/2009) Young Drinkers Clog Hospitals, http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch/2776882/Young-drinkers-clog-hospitals, (Assessed: 23/8/2009).
Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand Information For Youth, http://www.alcohol.org.nz/InfoForYouth.aspx, (Accessed: 23/8/2009).
Ministry of Transport, Road Transport Organisation, http://www.transport.govt.nz/, (accessed: 26/8/2009).

Kaipara Integrated Catchment Management

Stage one of this catchment management plan provided the background information for the Kaipara Catchment. The purpose of stage two is to identify the key issues within the catchment, look at the causes of them, analyse the current management of it and think of the management that should continue. After that, it identifies to the management and then it looks at monitoring indicators for each of the issues.

Key Issues

The following issues have been identified in the main catchment of the Kaipara/ Kumeu River and some have been identified in the sub catchment areas. The following issues are the priority for the Catchment Management Plan and needs to be addressed immediately to recover the river back to its natural state.

General Kaipara River Catchment Issues:
• Increased sedimentation
• Water Quality
• Hydrology/Flooding
• Land Use
• Low Biodiversity (Flora and Fauna)

The conflicts that can be identified within the catchment are the following:
• Land use v Biodiversity
• Land use v Flooding
• Economic value v Environment
• Cultural v Environmental
• Urban sprawl v Natural environment

All these conflicts within the study area contribute to the issues stated and will be discussed in this report. The issues have been discussed in the priority that they should be addressed as it will be of beneficial to the next issue as they all inter-relate with each other.


Sedimentation

Increased sedimentation has been evident in the upper parts of the Kumeu River in the Kumeu sub-catchment area behind the Kumeu shops. Large earthwork operations are taking place which is involving removing the top soil leaving clay which is washing into the river and creating blockages due to the high sedimentation levels. This is causing even more disturbances to the natural ecology of the place as the river is already being polluted by the residential, commercial and industrial areas present in the catchment already. Large earth work projects block the river and by doing so when the clay gets deposited into the river, it then covers small invertebrate species up and they could possibly die. This also affects the whole river because whatever happens in the upper part of the river affects the river downstream. Therefore, the sedimentation will travel downstream and it will affect the biodiversity in the whole catchment in the river and outside due to the fact that if there are birds that feed on certain invertebrates in the river and if they are not present there then the birds will migrate. High sedimentation is also caused by live stock getting into the river. High sedimentation levels affect the atheistic quality of the river especially when it rains the water becomes murky.

Current Management:
Auckland Regional Council has plans for sedimentation such as Regional Plan for Sediment Control and the most suitable ways of protecting and enhancing the area.
-Rodney District Council and Auckland City Council are working together by monitoring the sedimentation levels in the river and they are trying to re-vegetate the backs to reduce erosion of them.
-Resource Management Act

Future Management Regulatory:
That future development in the catchment be undertaken in such a manner as to avoid, or mitigate the erosive effects of earthwork discharges.
-Work within the driest seasons
-Fencing of waterways to prevent erosion from stock.
-Encouraging the community to re-vegetate along the banks of the river to reduce erosion.
-Educate the public about the effects of high sedimentation

Future Management Non-Regulatory:
-Provide incentives for the earthwork workers to minimize the area exposed at any one time.
-Encourage the community to help with the planting of vegetation along the river banks.

Constraints:
-urban sprawl demand is increasing as the Auckland Region is growing. However in saying that developers can adapt the Low Impact Urban D to decrease environmental impacts.
-Large amounts of the river are in private property therefore we have to encourage the residents to fence parts of the river from stock. Also we have to encourage them to replant the backs in their property.

Monitoring Indicators
Measuring water quality and turbidity
Look out for Visual effects such as clouding of waterways
Monitor sedimentation levels in the river

Water Quality

Water quality varies in the catchment depending on the land use around it. The part of the river that is surrounded by farmland, commercial, residential, and industrial use tends to have poor water quality; this is mainly along the main river. The cause of poor water quality in the catchment is erosion, nutrient levels and surface runoff. There has been an increase in farming, this increases the diffusion of pesticides, and fertilizers that contain nitrogen, and phosphorus chemicals in them, (Rodney District Council, Waitakere City Council, 2007). Surface runoff is at its peak off State Highway 16 where approximately 20,000 vehicles per day use the highway south of Kumeu and approximately 12,200 between Huapai and Waimauku, (Rodney District Council, Waitakere City Council, 2007). Erosion is high around the banks of the river where there is low numbers of vegetation and when it floods or animal stock gets into the river the bank erodes creating murky water. Also the tributary streams that flow off the Kaipara River had low dissolved oxygen levels.

Current Management:
-Kingett Michell and Auckland Regional Council provide water quality, temperature levels and pH level monitoring and they have done so for the last 20 years.
-Auckland Regional Council and Rodney District Council have got water quality surveyors working in the Kaipara Catchment to provide information on the river and how to improve it.
-National quality monitoring network which is done by NIWA
- s69 RMA Water Quality, ensuring the bottom line

Future Regulatory Management:
-Do not build impervious surfaces around the river.
-Regulate how much pesticides farmers use, and put restrictions on it.
-Houses should have storm water catchers that catch the water off the roof so the chemicals do not get into the river.
-Try increase the water quality by 50% by cleaning it up and this will increase the biodiversity in the catchment too.
Improve the drainage systems within the catchment region.

Future Non-Regulatory Management:
Educate the residents about water quality.
-Get the community involved in cleaning up the river and re-planting to increase the riparian corridor which in return will decrease the erosion
Constraints: -Hard to get farmers to stick to the restrictions as they may want to use more and it is hard to identify which farmer is using more pesticides.
-2050 the population is predicted to reach approximately 180,000 in the whole Rodney Region, this means more impervious surfaces which will cause more runoff and worsen the water quality.
-The cost of improving the drainage system may be too much and the council won’t be able to do it without increasing things like the rates of the land owners which would cause conflict.

Monitoring Indicators:
Monitor sedimentation levels in the river
Assess the different nutrient levels and see if they are reducing
Check water quality and how much oil and other chemicals get enters the river via street network

Hydrology/Flooding

Flooding is a major issue in the catchment including the river and the small streams during high rainfall and it is caused by the land use around it and also the high rainfall. Large amounts of impervious surfaces increases the flooding as the water cannot infiltrate, therefore it runs off into the river increasing the water level. Agricultural land is present around the river however there is a small amount of vegetation present therefore the rainfall infiltrates through the soil and gets deposited into the river. This causes flooding as the water has nowhere to go. Stream overflow presents a risk, both physically and economically to stakeholders in the catchment as the farmers are affected and cannot grow their crops, (Rodney District Council, Waitakere City Council, 2007). Flooding causes contamination of the river due to the fact that when in overflows it collects all the surface runoff from the roads and the pastoral land and deposits it into the river. This will have a negative effect on the fish species present there.

Current Management:
-Storm water drainage is primarily via open drains to the tributaries, which in turn discharge into the Kumeu or Kaipara Rivers.
-The Kaipara River ultimately discharges into the Kaipara Harbour. At road and rail crossings, flows are generally directed through bridge or culvert structures. There are currently 840 existing consented discharge points into the Kumeu/Kaipara Rivers.
-Stormwater treatment devices in accordance with ARC guidelines (ARC TP10,2003) to remove at least 75% of total suspended sediments on a long-term average basis.
-Monitoring the rainfall flooding patterns this is done by NIWA.

Future Regulatory Management:
-Land use intensification through urban development (whether reticulated or not) should only occur where adequate provision is made to mitigate the increase in storm water runoff, (Rodney District Council, Waitakere City Council, 2007).
-Re-vegetation along the banks of the river to reduce the flooding as it will absorb the water.
-Preserve the flood plains in Kumeu by not allowing development.
-Taupaki is a natural floodplain and no further development should be permitted.

Future Non-Regulatory Management:
-Educate general public
-Provide incentives for farmers to replant on their land to reduce flooding

Constraints:
-Hard to change the lifestyle of the people living on the farmland as they may not want to plant vegetation.
-Impervious surfaces that are present there now such as State Highway 16 cannot be moved and it will continue to flood because it is hard to change the water flow of the river.

Monitoring Indicators:
Continue monitoring the rainfall and flooding patterns.
Ask residence if they are noticing any differences in peak flooding periods if its decreasing or not.

Land Use

The land use in the Kaipara Catchment is mainly rural consisting of agricultural land. This causes soil erosion, ground water contamination, faecal contamination from the stock, pesticide runoff and infiltration which makes the river nutrient rich as it all ends up in the river. This all causes chemical changes within the water body as the oxygen levels decrease, nutrients are enriched and the pesticides are accumulated (Van Roon and Knight).
Oxygen depletion is caused by when the bacteria is breaking down the waste and also during the night plants respire. Most agricultural waste have a high biochemical oxygen demand therefore if there are high amounts of contaminants flora and fauna will not have enough oxygen.
In addition, there are large pine forests within the catchment where felling occurs. This causes large disruptions to the natural environment as the business operating the large areas of pine are constantly cutting them down and replanting them however the trees do not grow fast therefore the top soil gets washed down and causes sedimentation in the river. This is an issue that effects the catchment both on land and inside the river. The reason being is it effects the terrestrial species present there as they need to migrate when the trees have been cut down, and it effects the micro-invertebrates inside the river as the high sedimentation decreases the oxygen levels.

Current Management:
-S 70 (1) RMA discharges
-Farmers using pesticides must be in accordance with the Code of Practice for the Management of Agrichemicals.
-monitoring of pesticides inside the river by NIWA.

Future Regulatory Management:
-Create buffer zones between sections of the pine forest so it reduces the amount of sedimentation getting into the river.
-Set strict rules about the amount of stock each farmer can have on their land.
-Minimise tillage, mulch, plant on contour lines.
-Apply fertilizers during appropriate seasons
-develop alternative pest management techniques including biological controls.

Future Management Non-Regulatory:
-Providing incentives to farm owners to reduce the amount of pesticides they use or to develop alternative pest management such as biological controls.

Constraints:
-People do not like change, especially if it is going to cost more.
-The current management has not worked as we can tell by looking at the present state of the river.
-RMA is going to get changed therefore we do not know if it is going to be for the better or worse.

Monitoring Indicators:
Measure water quality and turbidity

Biodiversity

In the Kaipara Catchment there has been a huge decline in the flora and fauna. The reason for this is that biodiversity loss is being driven by private property rights and they override wildlife protection. There has been a huge decline in indigenous forests as they have been cut down and replaced by pine for economic purposes such as pine production. This has a flow on effect on the fauna such as birds, and reptiles that are present in the area. Once there habitats have been destroyed they migrate elsewhere. There has been a loss in micro-invertebrates within the main Kaipara River and also the small streams. This is due to the high sedimentation levels and poor water quality within the river and these small species cannot survive in such conditions. Forest loss has occurred due to the fact that pastoral and agricultural farming has increased over the years.

Current Management:
-The Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society set out rules of protecting our indigenous forest and birds.
-There are conservation management plans and strategies that are incorporated into the Regional and District Planning documents.
-Department of Conservation is trying to restore and protect the area.
-Rodney District Plan has a specific section on biodiversity that states to protect and preserve it.
-Resource Management Act is used as it states to “Protect and preserve the natural and physical environment”.

Future Management Regulatory:
-There needs to be a much better understanding on biodiversity and planning.
-There needs to be more emphasis on monitoring such as plan monitoring, consent monitoring, and state of the environment monitoring.
-Monitoring the number of micro-invertebrates in the river.
-Rodney District Council needs to create set guidelines on biodiversity and stick to it. Such as no cutting down native trees.

Future Management Non-Regulatory:
-provide incentives for the private property owners to plan indigenous plants which will attract different birds.
-re-vegetate along the banks of the river to attract more nesting places for birds and also it will stop erosion of the bank which in turn will allow micro-invertebrates to survive.
-educate the community about the importance of indigenous fauna and flora

Constraints:
- Not enough support from central government to help with the restoration of native fauna and flora in the area.
-Biodiversity loss is being driven by private ownership because the residence are destroying the indigenous vegetation and they may not want to stop doing that.
-Money is a major constraint as there isn’t a lot of funding for replanting.
-Hard to change the current situation due to human impact

Monitoring Indicators:
See what fauna and flora have adapted to the area that has been restored.
Count the number of micro-invertebrates are present in different areas.