In late 2022, as part of the engagement process for the Tasman Environment Plan, we received your feedback on “From the Mountains to the Sea”, a discussion document that included a range of topics concerning the freshwater and coastal environments in the Tasman region. We asked for your thoughts on vision and values, pressures, freshwater management units (FMU’s), and the coastal environment and natural character. After an analysis of this feedback we decided to draft a generic vision and a vision for each FMU, confirm the values and engage once more. So another round of engagement was held from the 20^th April to the 30th June 2023.

A summary of the second round of engagement on Mountains to the Sea (M2S2) can be found here:

A summary of the engagement and the feedback from M2S1 can be found here:

A more in-depth analysis of the engagement and feedback from M2S1, including each individual FMU, can be found here:

The combined feedback from M2S1 and M2S2 amounted to 511 pieces of feedback on visions and values from over 294 people, organisations and companies.

Freshwater Management Units (FMU): The very limited FMU feedback generally agreed with the FMU boundaries, with one change sought round Te Matau/Separation Point, and queries around alternative management areas in the Motueka-Riuwaka and Aorere-West Coast areas.

Visions - Key themes from the long-term visions feedback ranged dramatically with many opposing views. Topics included: decreased sedimentation, improved water quality, cultural change and relationships with waterbodies, management structure and process changes, ecological health, natural habitat, giving rivers space to move and adapt, biodiversity protections, flood management, water availability, recreational angling, suction dredge gold mining, water takes and water allocation, public access, gravel extraction and coastal erosion effects, climate change and river modification.

Values of Water - many of the compulsory and other national values were agreed upon by respondents for each FMU, with feedback including specific areas valued for swimming, boating, food gathering, fishing and ecosystem and habitat values. Many of the values fitted within the wider values set identified in the discussion document, but provided useful detail about these at a local scale. Some different additional values were identified as applying to specific FMU’s, including climate resilience and habitat restoration potential.

Iwi visions and values

Iwi will be talking to their whanau and hapu over the next 6-12 months about their visions and values for water across Te Tauihu/Top of the South. Once this is complete, we will be bringing our feedback together to look at the similarities and differences and work collaboratively to determine how these are best included in the draft Land and Freshwater Plan Change.

There will be a further opportunity for community feedback in mid 2024 when we put out the draft Land and Water Plan Change. The draft plan change will include Te Mana o te Wai, where freshwater health is the first priority. You will get to see how any proposed changes may influence future land and water management. This opportunity enables council staff to test the changes and improve them before the Land and Water Plan Change is formally notified in December 2024.