Biodiversity Strategy

What do we mean by Biodiversity?

Biological diversity (biodiversity) includes our native (indigenous) plants and animals, where they live, and how they interrelate with their environment. It provides many of the basic building blocks that support life. These include natural processes such as converting the sun’s energy to produce organic forms, nutrient recycling, catchment protection, waste treatment, climate regulation, surface water management and other processes that occur in nature. Bio-diversity is essential, but often unnoticed and undervalued. Protection of indigenous biodiversity is our unique responsibility.

What are the issues?  Expanding the Christchurch Biodiversity Strategy to include Banks Peninsula

The health of Banks Peninsula bio-diversity contributes directly towards making the City of Christchurch a healthy place to live, work and play. While indigenous plant biodiversity on Banks Peninsula has been well documented, much less is known about insects and marine life, and knowledge of freshwater fish and their needs is not widespread. There are many private and public conservation initiatives but no overarching plan to ensure priorities are collectively agreed and implemented in a coordinated way. A major issue for the Council is determining community expectations and ensuring a balance between providing overall strategic direction and the degree to which local needs are met. Some key issues include:

• A bio-diversity treasure in the back garden. Banks Peninsula, including Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere, contains biodiversity areas and species of international, national and regional importance currently with little or no protection.
• What's protecting the treasure? Only a small proportion (about 7%) of the total land area currently has any form of legal protection for biodiversity purposes. Most Banks Peninsula indigenous biodiversity is on private land and is reliant on the goodwill of landowners for its protection.
• Who pays to protect biodiversity? There is very limited budget provision in the current LTCCP for Banks Peninsula biodiversity management and protection, and without strategic direction there won't be more money.
• What's the priority? Some highly valued areas have been offered for sale, and requests made by the community for Council to purchase, but without a policy framework how can future land purchases be prioritised?
• How can we work together better? Partnerships enabling the Council, iwi, other agencies, community groups and landowners to support and compliment each other's work are required to manage and enhance biodiversity.

Council adopted the Biodiversity Strategy 24 July 2008

What will the Council be doing now?

• Council will now be looking to implement the Strategy through its capital and operational programmes and partnership with the community agencies and landowners. Budget provision for Strategy initiatives will be determined through the LTCCP process.
• Collaborate with the community: developing a Council partnership with landowners, other organisations, Ngai Tahu and the community is critical to success on Banks Peninsula – a two way process that encourages and supports private and community initiative; developing links with key individuals and groups in the business community has considerable expertise that could be highly supportive of biodiversity initiatives.

Want to know more?

For more information phone (03) 941 8692 or email: kelvin.mcmillan@ccc.govt.nz