Local authorities across Aotearoa-New Zealand are required to implement the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020 (NPS-FM). River flows are an essential consideration for all 15 NPS-FM policies and many of its associated values. In this talk we explain how the “Te Mana o te Wai” hierarchy of obligations set out in the NPS-FM prioritises first the health and well-being of water bodies and freshwater ecosystems, second health needs of people, and third the ability of people and communities to provide for their social, economic, and cultural well-being. We then highlight the implications of various clauses within the NPS-FM for river flow management, and propose a framework intended to facilitate approaches that will deliver environmental flow regimes and thereby support environmental outcomes. The framework consists of nine steps that form a transparent approach for linking environmental flow regimes to ecosystem states through controls on flow-altering activities and the application of adaptive management. The framework starts with six prerequisites to defining environmental flow regimes, explicitly includes consideration of the foreseeable effects of climate change, incorporates a loop for monitoring and adaptive management, and ends with controls on flow-altering activities. Provision of a general framework, rather than prescriptive instructions for technical methodologies, is consistent with the NPS-FM because it allows for flexibility in setting in-stream values and deploying technical methods. The proposed framework does not preclude the intentional integration of participatory approaches or the inclusion of diverse stakeholders and iwi partners. The proposed framework does not set any limitations on methodological approach used to describe desired states, flow-ecology linkages, cultural values, or cultural attributes. Adopting the framework should therefore encourage selection of a combination of scientific methods (monitoring, water accounting, ecological models), mātauranga Māori, planning processes, and consenting mechanisms to deliver the NPS-FM.
For further information see: https://environment.govt.nz/publications/a-proposed-framework-for-managing-river-flows-to-support-implementation-of-the-nps-fm/