Water Wars – Challenges of Town And CountryLincoln Hot Science SeriesDr Bryan Jenkins Chief Executive, Environment Canterbury

Canterbury Water Management Strategy: A Collaborative Governance Approach to Achieving Sustainable Water Management

Prof Bryan Jenkins - Waterways Centre, University of Canterbury and Lincoln University

NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN NZ• Regional Councils formed in 1989 with geographical

boundaries based on catchments• Regulatory body for resource management with

elected council• Resource Management Act (1991): effects-based

management to promote sustainable management• Ministry for the Environment established with

powers to produce national policies and standards• Appeals to the Environment Court with ability to

review technical merit

SIGNIFICANCE OF WATER IN CANTERBURY

• 58% of NZ’s allocated water• 70% of NZ’s irrigated land• 65% of NZ’s hydro storage• High quality untreated water for Christchurch• Braided rivers, high country and coastal lakes,

and lowland streams • Driest region in terms of Potential

Evapotranspiration Deficit

SUSTAINABILITY LIMITS• Rapid increase in demand for water

- expansion of dairying• Water Availability

- run-of-river takes on restriction- groundwater zones at allocation limits

• Cumulative Effects of Water Use- water quality impacts from intensification- ecological health effects from diminished flows

RMA LIMITATIONS

• Management of diffuse sources• Allocation based on first-come first-served• Management of sustainability limits and cumulative

effects• Absence of precautionary approach• Reactive role for regulator• Effects-based rather than outcomes-based• Adversarial nature of decision processes

PARADIGM SHIFT NEEDED IN WATER MANAGEMENT

• Water allocation and availability which addresses sustainability limits and climate variability

• Management of cumulative effects of water takes and land use intensification

• Shift from effects-based management of individual consents to integrated management based on water management zones

GOVERNANCE MODELS FOR COMMON RESOURCES

• Leviathan Model- Direct Government provision of services with

integration of policy and operational functions• Privatisation Model

- Private sector provision of services with government role as regulator

• Self Governing Community Model- Community determination of resource

management requirements

LIMITATIONS OF REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY AND MARKETS

• Evenly balanced council led to polarisation of debate• Political conflict between different levels of government • Markets not price sensitive due to high infrastructure

costs and efficiency of operating at design flows• Environmental issues not addressed by markets: failure

at sustainability limits, externalities associated with use, differential impacts of transfers

• Economic efficiency not achieved by markets: greater efficiency from catchment management

SUCCESS WITH INFORMAL COLLABORATIVE WORK

• Subcatchment - Living Streams: land use and waterways- Water User Groups: takes tied to same environmental

flow monitoring point- Cluster Groups: groundwater subzones for consent reviews

• Catchments- Community Catchment Plan: to address specific issue- Community Trust: programme coordination of

government and community actions

SELF MANAGED COMMUNITIES• Alternative to “government direction” and “privatisation”

options• Relevant to multiple users of scarce renewable resource

where use affects others• Cooperative strategy worked out with users• Mutual monitoring of resource and its use• Commitment to rules• Agreed enforcement and conflict resolution approaches• Multiple layers of nested enterprises for larger systems

MULTIPLE LEVELS

• National: national policies and standards, treaty matters, hydro-generation

• Regional: water availability, land use intensification• Catchment: sustainability limits, cumulative effects,

reliability of supply• Subcatchment: environmental flows, streams and

riparian margins• Property: irrigation and land use practices

STAGES IN CANTERBURY WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGY

• Stage 1: Initial study of water availability issues in Canterbury

• ECan water management investigations and planning• Stage 2: Potential major storage sites• Stage 3: Multi-stakeholder review of storage options• Stage 4: Integrated water management strategy

development• Implementation of CWMS

STAGE 1: STUDY OF WATER AVAILABILITY

Initial study by ECan, MAF and MfE (2002):• Irrigation the dominant consumptive use (89%):

potential to double irrigated area• Run-of-river and groundwater withdrawal reaching

sustainability limits and cannot meet future demands• On an annual basis water is available to meet future

demand but would require storage• Future development requires strategic integrated

water resource management

MAP OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND

SHIFT FROM TECHNICAL INVESTIGATIONS TO COLLABORATIVE STRATEGY

• Stage 2: Technical investigation of storage options• Stage 3 multi-stakeholder evaluation identified:

- need to address water quality risk for land use intensification- desire for integrated solution that minimised storage

• Stage 4 strategy development based on:- stakeholder and community engagement on options- strategic investigations of outcomes- sustainability appraisal of options

STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT COLLABORATION• Oversight by Canterbury Mayoral Forum with

Steering Group drawn from major water interests• Multi-stakeholder consultation on uses and benefits:

fundamental principles• Steering Group definition, stakeholder and public

consultation: strategic options• Multi-stakeholder workshops: targets• Public and stakeholder review of draft strategy:

strategic framework

STRATEGIC INVESTIGATIONS• Impact of land use intensification on water quality• Identification of priority restoration programmes• Storage options that are most likely to be sustainable• Efficiency and ecological enhancements through integrated

water management• Integration of water for energy security and irrigation

availability• Economic modelling of production and ecosystem services• Governance structures for sustainable management

WATER REDISTRIBUTION

NITRATE MODELLING IN SHALLOW GROUNDWATERCurrent Land Use Full Intensification

Shallow Groundwater

Nitrate Concentration

Shallow Groundwater

Nitrate Concentration

All extensive converted to 

intensive  (dairy 4 cow)

SUSTAINABILITY APPRAISAL• Framework founded on four pillars of sustainability (economic,

social, cultural and environmental)• Management of water on the basis of capital assets• Evaluation criteria incorporating minimum acceptable position

(bottom lines) and desirable objective position (top line)• Comparative analysis of strategic options: bottom line higher

than business-as-usual• Sustainability requires improvements to existing practices not

just new development

FIGURE 6: COMPARISON OF SUSTAINABILITY PROFILES FOR ALL OPTIONS

SOME KEY ISSUES

•Integrated water management needed to provide “new water”- water use efficiency of existing allocations- storage meeting sustainability criteria

•New water needed to- generate revenue for new infrastructure- increase reliability to involve existing users- reduce pressure on lowland streams

FURTHER KEY ISSUES

•Further land use intensification constrained unless- existing land use practices improve- future development better than current best

practice•Transition from existing processes

- statutory backing needed to achieve collaboration alternative to current adversarial processes

IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGY• Parallel development of proactive implementation programmes

to achieve multiple targets- regional implementation programme including environmental restoration, storage and distribution, iwi management plans, consent reconfiguration through brokerage- zone implementation programmes including environmental restoration, water use efficiency, land use practice improvement, customary use

• Contrast with RMA style- applicant-driven development within environmental constraints set by plans and consents

STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION COLLABORATION

• Regional Committee- members – chair, 2 RC, 4 TA, 10 zone, 7 community,

3 runanga, 1 Ngai Tahu- addresses regional issues- develop regional implementation programme

• 10 Zone Committees- members – RC, TA, 6-7 community, runanga- address zone issues- develop zone implementation programmes

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

• Regulatory approach not suited to management of resource at sustainability limits

• Representative democracy and multiple political levels led to conflict at governance level

• Need for different governance approach that is stakeholder/community led

• Need for nested approach to deal with issues at different geographical scales