Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Citizen terms and conditions

Cleaner streams for drinking, swimming and fishing
Limit use of additional harmful chemicals
Increase awareness of stream pollution and issues that are associated with it such as intensive farming practices
Long term natural solution – e.g. Riparian planting plans

NGO Terms and Conditions

NGO - Advocate group for environmental protection of streams and rivers in New Zealand. 

Clearwater NZ

Desired Outcome:
Introduce a national standard that regulates pollution causing practices throughout all New Zealand farms (including both pastoral and agricultural).  This means providing constraints on practices that result in run-off contaminants into near by streams and rivers, regulation and control off those breaching the standard with appropriate consequences and an education scheme to make farmers aware of more environmentally friendly systems.

Also aim for:
  • Funding for research into more innovative practices that will eventually mean no harmful chemicals or hazardous materials are required on farms.
  • Encouraging local involvement to promote awareness
  • Clean up schemes for damage already caused to the environment
  • Safe practices for all animals, plants, and humans that provide a more sustainable farming environment.

Emmanuelle summary of Articles and references

Agriculture and fresh water
After explaining New-Zealand water pollution issues, this article describes the different project and partnerships set up by the Ministry of environment, working with the primary sector actors: Primary Sector Water Partnership and Dairying and Clean Streams Accord.

Primary Sector Water Partnership Leadership

This pdf document is a summary of a plan of action decided by the Primary Sector Water Partnership (group of major organizations from the primary sector like Fonterra, Federated Farmers of New-Zealand ...) to improve New-Zealand water quality and use and accelerate the process on the clean water issues from the agricultural sector.
This plan includes different targets such as the implementation of a Nutrient Management programme, a bench mark for the improvement of water use (goal: self-management approach) and objectives to minimize microbial and sediment deposition in rivers and streams.


Muddying the Waters: managing agricultural water quality in New-Zealand.
This pdf document summarizes the relations between the primary sector actors, the New-Zealand government and dairy industry actors; and one accord agreed by some of these actors to reduce the pollution of rivers and streams generated by dairy farms: Dairying and Clean Streams Accord, 2003. Despite of the fact that dairy farmers were not included in the negotiations on this accord and did not appreciate this, the accord has set up performing targets and priority actions to improve water quality by reducing dairy cattle run-off. Here, Fonterra Co-operative Group has to develop regional action plans for dairying regions. Moreover, a Water Programme Action is managed by the government to establish national environmental standards.

Dairying
This article is a description of the Dairying and Clean Streams Accord made between the New-Zealand government and Fonterra (which covers 95% of the country's milk production) in 2003. The Accord target is to reduce the impact of dairying activity on New-Zealand waterways.

The Dairying and Clean Streams Accord: Snapshot of Progress 2008/09.
This article summarizes the progress due to the Dairying and Clean Streams Accord. Only 2 of the 5 Accord 2007 goals have been met, but the progress remains good, with now a better involvement of the farmers compared to year 2003.

References:
Ministry of environment official website (2010). Agriculture and fresh water. Retrieved 2010, october 6 from http://www.mfe.govt.nz/issues/water/freshwater/agricultural-impacts.html   
Federated Farmers of New-Zealand website (2010). Primary Sector Water Partnership Leadership Document. Retrieved from http://fedfqrm.org.nz/f184,17642/17642_Water_Partnership.pdf  
Harding, R (2007). Muddying the Waters: managing agricultural water quality in New-Zealand. Institute of Policy studies. Retrieved from http://ips.ac.nz/publications/files/dca5f851ae2.pdf
Ministry of environment website (2010). Dairying. Retrieved 2010, October 6 from http://www.mfe.govt.nz/issues/land/rural/dairying.html  

Ministry of environment website (2010).The Dairying and Clean Streams Accord: Snapshot of Progress 2008/09. Retrieved 2010m October 19 from http://www.maf.govt.nz/mafnet/rural-nz/sustainable-resource-use/resource-management/dairy-clean-stream/execsum-08-09.html

Reference- Environment Waikato


Environment Waikato.  (2010).  Effluent Management. Retireved from http://www.ew.govt.nz/Audiences/For-farmers/#Heading2

Environment Waikato. (2010). Clean Streams Fund Facts, Retrieved from http://www.ew.govt.nz/Projects/Clean-streams/

Ø          Set up by Environement Waikato, Clean Streams is a project to encourage and support farmers to reduce their impact on waterways.
Ø          It runs until June 2011
Ø          Up to 35% of the costs can be provided by the Clean Streams Project, and the project can contribute to the costs of fencing, planting and providing troughs in streamside paddocks.
Ø          Fencing to keep stock out is one of the most effective ways of protecting rivers from effluents

References + some article summary


Blame, I. (2010). Fonterra’s approach tardy on dairy-farm pollution. Retrieved 29th September from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10635179

Ø          This years report (by the Clean Streams Accord) showed that there was increasing levels of non compliance by dairy famers.
Ø          The 2003 Clean Streams Accord had set a target of 100% compliance, but Fonterra is not making significant attempts to do this.
Ø          Environment Waikato is seen as having the most effective regulatory department (Regulation is only determined by regional council, no national standard).
Ø          Fonterra’s current non compliance fine is not tough enough, but going through with its threat to no collect milk from a wayward farm could just mean more pollution.
Ø          In the US non compliance with effluent rules leads to the withdrawl of their ‘consent to farm’.



Chug, K. (2010). Pollution ‘choking’ New Zealand Rivers.  Retrieved 29 September, 2010 from http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/3815892/Pollution-choking-New-Zealand-rivers

Ø          New Zealand rivers are being badly polluted by effluent from dairy farms and erosion from stock.
Ø          A policy to reduce the over allocation and over contamination has been passed onto the Land and Water Forum by Dr Smith (Environment Minister).
Ø          Currently, following measures such as the Clean Stream Accord are only voluntary.
Ø          Federated Famers dairy chairman said that we believed the policy would stifle the kind of innovation the helped famrers work more sustainably.
Ø          New Zealand does not have a national policy, so it is up to Regional Councils to manage the rivers.
Ø          New Zealand is the only country in the OECD that does not have a National Reporting Act.
Ø          The proposed policy is aimed at guiding better decision making, but councils will still be responsible for setting standards.




Land and Water Forum. (2010). Land and Water Forum Report released.  Retrieved from http://www.landandwater.org.nz/media_release.pdf

Land and Water Forum. (2010). Report of the Land and Water Forum: A fresh start for fresh water. Retrieved from http://www.landandwater.org.nz/land_and_water_forum_report.pdf

Ø          The Land and Water forum comprises of a range of primary industry groups, environmental and recreational NGOs, iwi and others with an interest in fresh water and land management.
Ø          Recommendations set out by the report:
o      Setting standards, limits and targets for water quality and quantity while taking into account the variety of New Zealand’s geography, and the diversity of cultural, economic, environmental and social interests in water
o      Water allocation and transfer of water permits
o      Irrigation, storage and hydro projects
o      Governance arrangements and the knowledge required for water management
o      Urban water services issues, and
o      Collaboration processes for better stakeholder engagement and outcomes.



Brittany Reference

Happy Farmer << Link used for information about pumps


O'Dowd, S. (2010). The essence of effluent. Taranaki Daily News Online, Retrieved from http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/farming/4039175/The-essence-of-effluent


that is the reference apa format. this is the only reference I used which Briar didnt post



Tuesday, October 19, 2010

7th group meeting

Type of meeting
7th Group Meeting
Note taker
Briar
Time of meeting
4 hours
Attendees
Rajas, Brittany, Emmanuelle, Briar, Olivia
AGENDA TOPICS: Finalising slides and order for presenting
Discussion
·      
·      
came up with creative ideas for powerpoint presentation
finalised slides
Conclusions
·     
·     
Action items
Person responsible
Deadline
-get ready for our presentation - practice
- make sure we have every thing in our journal
-make sure we have included all references
Everyone
Wednesday Oct 20th

6th group meeting

Type of meeting
6th Group Meeting
Note taker
Briar
Time of meeting
2 1/2 hours
Attendees
Rajas, Emmanuelle, Briar, Olivia
AGENDA TOPICS: Slide format
Discussion
finishing slides
·      
·    
 We continued to work on our slides
 discussed how to present our journal
discussed what was important to put in the slides and what to leave out
Conclusions
·       We continued work on our PowerPoint and started thinking about how we will present
·      
Action items
Person responsible
Deadline
·Finalise our PowerPoint and get ready for our presentation
Everyone
Tuesday Oct 19th.

References list

References:

Environment Waikato. (2010). Managing farm runoff. Retrieved from

Greenpeace. (2008). 100 per cent pure misnomer – how clean green NZ is slipping from its perch. Retrieved from

Morphum environmental Ltd. (2010). Stream management on farms. Retrieved from

Scoop; Independent news. (2009). Riparian planting; Think big as contractors dig. Retrieved from

Taranaki Daily News. (2009). Riparian planting pace criticised. Retrieved from

Taranaki Regional council. (2007). Farmers and environment winners from riparian planting. Retrieved from

Wikipedia. (2010). Biodynamic agriculture. Retrieved from

Wikipedia. (2010). Wetland. Retrieved from

Four main pollutants in farm run off

Pollutant
Why it is a problem
Source of pollutant
How it gets to water
Nitrogen
  • It feeds nuisance plant and algae growth in waterways
  • Algae and nuisance plants affect stream life, block water intakes and drains, and make water unpleasant for swimming and drinking
  • Ammonia can be toxic to fish
  • Urine from stock
  • Nitrogen in fertiliser
  • Ammonia in dairy shed wastewater
  • It moves down through soil (leaching) into ground water and subsurface drains, which feed into streams
  • Surface runoff
  • Stock in streams
  • Discharges from oxidation ponds
Phosphorus
  • It feeds nuisance plant and algae growth in waterways
  • Algae and nuisance plants affect stream life, block water intakes and drains, and make water unpleasant for swimming and drinking
  • Dung from stock
  • Phosphate in fertiliser
  • Farm dairy effluent
  • Soil sediment
  • Soil and bank erosion (phosphate binds to soil particles)
  • Surface runoff
  • Discharges from oxidation ponds
  • Stock in streams
  • Subsurface drains
Sediment
  • It makes water murky and affects stream life
  • Poor water clarity makes water unsafe for swimming
  • Hillside erosion
  • Stream bank erosion and trampling
  • Tracks and races
  • Surface of paddocks
  • Surface runoff
  • Stream bank collapse
  • Hillside erosion
Faecal matter
(bacteria, viruses)
  • It creates a human health risk from swimming and drinking
  • It can affect stock health if present in stock water
  • Dung from stock
  • Farm dairy effluent
  • Stock in streams
  • Subsurface drains
  • Discharges from oxidation ponds
  • Surface runoff
  • Poorly-managed effluent irrigation


Managing farm run off - Environment Waikato

How you can reduce contaminated runoff to rivers -
  • Form a StreamCare group with your neighbours to discuss and implement better land management practices to protect your local river or stream.
  • Prevent stock access to riverbanks.
  • Protect wet areas, seeps and bogs from stock, to allow them to filter contaminants from runoff before it reaches waterways.
  • Use fertilisers and chemicals responsibly. Check out the New Zealand Fertiliser Manufacturer’s Research Association Code of Practice (Code of Practice) for fertiliser use, especially when close to waterways.
  • Make sure dairyshed effluent irrigators are operating effectively and are moved frequently to prevent ponding and runoff.
  • Avoid break-feeding or mob-stocking close to riverbanks, especially in wet weather.
Planting of riverbank margins or riparian strips can be an effective way to reduce the impact of runoff on waterways.
  • Planted strips act as buffers, soaking up runoff before it reaches the river and filtering out nutrients such as nitrogen.
  • Planting also helps stabilise riverbanks, preventing erosion and therefore sediment runoff to the river.
Riverbank plants also shade the water and keep its temperature lower, which makes a better habitat for the plants and animals living in the river.

Definition of Biodynamic agriculture

"is a method of organic farming that treats farms as unified and individual organisms, emphasizing balancing the holistic development and interrelationship of the soil, plants, animals as a self-nourishing system without external inputs[2]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodynamic_agriculture

Diagram of how riparian planting works

riparian plantings in urban and rural landscapes

"Streamside – or riparian – vegetation can influence the health of waterways and how they function. Over the last 10 to 15 years, there has been a surge in stream-restoration projects by a range of agencies, community groups, and rural landowners. These projects are strongly focused on re-establishing or enhancing riparian vegetation. In rural areas, the main objective of planting riparian buffer strips tends to be improving water quality. In urban areas, riparian planting projects also seek many social and cultural benefits including aesthetics, recreation, and flood control."

http://www.niwa.co.nz/news-and-publications/publications/all/wa/14-1/riparian

Diagram of how Wetlands work

The role and use of wetlands

“Over 90% of the wetlands in New Zealand have been drained since European settlement, predominantly to create farmland. Wetlands now have a degree of protection under the Resource Management Act.”
“Wetlands are very effective at filtering and cleaning water pollution [13], (often from agricultural runoff from the farms that replaced the wetlands in the first place). To replace these wetland ecosystem services enormous amounts of money have been spent on water purification plants and remediation measures”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wetland

Riparian planting example in Taranaki

“To help landowners get this year’s planting organised, the Council is again offering a contractor co-ordination service to farmers with Council-prepared riparian (streamside) management plans.”
“We trialled the contractor service last year and the feedback has been good,” says the Council’s Land Services Manager, Don Shearman. “Using four contractors, we got 25,000 plants into the ground in five blocks spread across 30 properties. We did all the organising for the landowners, who paid the contractors directly.”

The new service enhances a programme that since the late 1990s has seen more than 2,000 riparian management plans prepared, covering around 11,000 km of streambank. The plans cover the fencing and planting of waterways and are drawn up for landowners at no cost by the Council, which also supplies the plants at cost."

“Good riparian management is essential for protecting and enhancing freshwater quality and we believe farmers should see valuable potential in this new contracting scheme,” says Mr Shearman. “

“Effective riparian buffers enhance water quality by filtering agricultural run-off, and reducing the speed of run-off, which moderates stream flows, reduces flooding and increases baseline flows.
Riparian buffers also provide food and shelter for wildlife and corridors for plants and birds. Streamside vegetation also reduces water temperatures and supplies food for aquatic insects that in turn provide food for fish.”

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0902/S00376.htm

Riparian planting pace criticised

“Ninety-three per cent of Taranaki plains farmers on stream catchments now have riparian planting plans, but the actual implementation is "going at a snail's pace," councillor Peter Horton told a Taranaki Regional Council policy committee meeting recently.”

“The Dairying and Clean Streams Accord was drawn up five years ago by Taranaki dairy farming leaders, Fonterra, Federated Farmers and the TRC and has become an outstanding regional model. It covers riparian (stream bank) fencing and planting, stream crossings, effluent discharges, nutrient budgets to optimise fertiliser use, and the protection of wetlands”

“TRC chairman David MacLeod says the rate of riparian protection work needs to lift substantially, although he adds that the amount of new work still equates to fencing and planting a strip equal to the distance from New Plymouth to Auckland, and farmers deserve recognition.”

http://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/farming/2988575/Riparian-planting-pace-criticised

Managing waterways (on waikato farms)

“A recent survey indicates that about two thirds of all Waikato streams are unfenced, leaving stock with direct access to waterways where they are damaging natural habitat, eroding banks and affecting water quality. Water monitoring tells us that only about one in five Waikato streams are safe for swimming because levels of bacteria are so high. Much of this bacteria comes from farm runoff and stock depositing waste in waterways.”

Stream management on Farms

“Morphum can offer practical advice and develop whole farm
plans for stream management. This may include an initial
stream survey followed by design of stream crossings to legal
requirements, provision of riparian planting plans and wetland
design according to best practice, all carried out in conjunction
with ensuring benfits to the farm.
Morphum can show you the life in your stream, identify potential
issues with the stream and give you the skills and techniques to
keep an eye on things yourself”
http://www.morphum.com/files/Stream%20Management%20on%20Farms.pdf