The Importance of Soil and Water Conservation to New Zealand

Forest and Bird, Issue 155, 1 February 1965, Page 5

The Importance of Soil and Water Conservation to New Zealand

At the invitation of the New Zealand Government, Dr. D. A. Williams, Administrator of the Soil Conservation Service of the United States, recently spent three weeks in New Zealand reviewing the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control organisation. His report, submitted to the Minister on the eve of his departure from the country, is a very interesting and very valuable document which merits careful consideration by Parliament; but it will be a wasted effort unless it is followed by action, and with this there should be no delay.

in the past few years the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society has not ceased to plead for more vigorous action for conserving our soil and for controlling and conserving our water supplies. It is heartening to read Dr. Williams’ report with its constant reiteration of the need for understanding the tremendous importance of our soil and water resources to the ecnomy and welfare of our country. In his fifteen-page report he makes frequent reference to the need for dealing with problems up in the hills where the raindrops fall; for instance, on the first page he pays tribute to the significant progress made during recent years by engineering works of good quality on the flood plains to deal with flood problems, which he says is a credit to the engineering skills of both catchment and State authorities, but, he goes on, “Unfortunately, a comparable measure of progress has not been made in many of the catchment areas on the soil conservation problems, which areas are the source of the flood waters and detritus, in preventing rapid runoff and serious erosion. Also there has been very little attention given to water conservation for consumptive uses in New Zealand.”

This note is sustained throughout his report. He goes on : “Your country is dependent in a very major way upon its soil and water resources. There are very limited areas of really good valley lands. Therefore. these lowland areas are urgently need-

ed in the present and future economy. Damage and destruction of your best soils will have far-reaching effect upon the economy of the country. It is very important, therefore, that floods and detritus be prevented or controlled. The lower-eleva-tion hill lands, while subject to erosion when cultivated, are generally well clothed with protective grass cover which is the backbone of your present agricultural economy. The high hill lands, most of which are Crown lands, are most vulnerable to erosion and in many areas are the most eroded and the highest producers of floods and detritus.” He continues in the next paragraph: “Accelerated erosion of hill lands is a very serious problem in several areas of New Zealand. Some areas because of the soil conditions and hazardous slopes should not be farmed if erosion is to be alleviated. Also very serious erosion is taking place on the valley lands due to stream action eating away the banks.” He says that management of vegetative cover consistent with soil limitations and hazards must be achieved to permit such growth of vegetation on the hill soils as will be adequate to greatly reduce erosion by promoting water infiltration and retarding its flow across the soil surface. He continues : “That degree of management has not been achieved in critical .soil areas to produce the on-site and off-site benefits which are essential to the reduction of downstream damages as well as to stabilise the critical areas. Thus it is highly important that an adequate soil-conservation and catchmentarea management programme be made effective. New Zealand cannot afford to waste its soil resources.”

Considerable emphasis is placed on the need for long-range planning of land and water uses ; a long-range policy should be adopted. It is of interest that Dr. Williams thinks that New Zealand is greatly blessed with the scenic beauty of its country, and that it will continue to attract more visitors and potential residents; but he points out that gullied and depleted lands repel rather

than attract human interest, and that the highways that lead to the scenic attractions can be pleasing or repulsive in rural areas. He sees the need for public interest and conservation consciousness in and out of Government ; aggressive conservation leadership and action is called for.

The report reviews at length the work of the State and local bodies dealing with soil and water conservation, and it recommends remodelling the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Council. It has no comment to make generally on Ministry of Works participation but suggests that administrative arrangements tend to overemphasise engineering and rivers-control activities to the detriment of soil conservation. Some hydro-power dam sites might have been developed for Hood-control purposes as well as for power. Reference is made to disposal of water from highways in such a manner that erosion will not be induced on adjacent lands. The Department of Lands and Survey comes in for some criticism because it would seem that insufficient thought had been given to soil and water conservation objectives by clearing unsuitable areas for farming and by disturbance of watercourses and gullies. His investigations brought forth criticisms against the Department of Agriculture, which is charged with considering soil conservation of minor importance. Commenting on the Forest Service. Dr. Williams writes: ‘The Department of Forests has a unique opportunity to further soil and water conservation through its activities. The recent inauguration of highmountain research should, in time, prove very valuable. Responsibility resulting in action for certain noxious-animal control can be very beneficial when aggressively pursued."

He recommends that there should be a Minister of Conservation, preferably the Prime Minister, because co-ordination in inter-departmental conservation activities should then be possible. In the fifteen-page report he tenders a considerable amount of helpful advice which merits serious consideration, but he underlines this passage : Action and not just advice is the key to conservation progress.