Source: New Zealand Government
Three new Jobs for Nature projects will help nature thrive in the Bay of Plenty and keep local people in work says Conservation Minister Kiri Allan.
“Up to 30 people will be employed in the projects, which are aimed at boosting local conservation efforts, enhancing some of the region’s most special places and supporting its economic recovery,” Kiri Allan said.
Ngati Tahu-Ngati Whaoa rohe – $826,000 over four years
“A team of 15 people will be employed to restore and improve geothermal, fresh-water and cultural sites in the Ngati Tahu-Ngati Whaoa rohe, ensuring this amazing landscape is protected and enhanced for future generations.
Wednesday, 24 February 2021, 10:09 am
Pet food manufacturer, Ziwi Limited, has been fined
$66,000 for discharges of odour, and $64,000 for discharges
of process wastewater from its pet food factory at 18 Boeing
Place, Mount Maunganui.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council
prosecuted Ziwi for both odour and wastewater discharges in
2018. Ziwi pleaded guilty.
Odours generated by Ziwi
have led to a significant number of complaints from the
local community. From 2008 to 2017 Regional Council received
224 complaints from the public about discharges of odour
from the Ziwi site. The odour prosecution was based on odour
discharges on five separate dates and followed earlier
enforcement action:
On 25 November 2016 Regional
Submissions were received from Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Kuku, Ngāi Tukairangi and the Whareroa Marae. “While the proposal sits comfortably with some Tauranga City Plan provisions, again these are secondary to the activity itself,” Sweetman said. “Simply, the applicant seeks to establish an over height tank farm adjacent to and visible from an existing established sensitive area, that is of great significance to tangata whenua and where they live, work and play. “I agree with the applicant that the proposal will sit within a context of large established industrial buildings and structures. “However, contrary to the applicant’s and consistent with the Tauranga City Council’s view, I find that this sits unfavourably against the application.’’
Lakepedia spotlight on Rotorua s lakes: good, but could be better
22 Feb, 2021 05:00 AM
4 minutes to read
Lake Tikitapu. Photo / Graham Jordan
A freshwater enthusiast in Romania has studied decades of data on Rotorua s lakes and found water quality is on an upward trajectory, with Lake Rotorua most improved.
But the outlook closer to home remains sober with some experts saying there is a long way to go.
Catalin Trif, a project manager based in Cluj-Napoca in Romania s northwest, founded his passion project Lakepedia in 2015 and said it was born out of a fascination for lakes and rivers .
The website, an online encyclopaedia of lakes, is run by Trif and one other volunteer.
The trophic level index is a value derived from four factors: water clarity, and the amount of chlorophyll, phosphorus and nitrogen in the water. The lower the value, out of zero to five, the higher quality the water. Trif said the data showed the overall quality of the Rotorua lakes had increased from an average TLI of 3.8 between 2001 and 2010 to an average of 3.6 in the decade between 2011 and 2020. “Lake Rotorua registered the biggest improvement, with a 0.5 reduction of its TLI, from 4.8 to 4.3. In terms of hitting the TLI targets, last year was the best since 2015, with four of the 12 lakes hitting their TLI targets.”