20/04/2006 - The Government,
the Marlborough District Council, and the New
Zealand Marine Farming Association have agreed
on a financial package to assist in updating local
aquaculture permits, Environment Minister David
Benson-Pope announced today.
Under the Aquaculture Reform
Act 2004, all leases and licences issued under
the Marine Farming Act 1971 and marine farming
permits issued under the Fisheries Act 1983 are
automatically deemed to be coastal permits under
the Resource Management Act.
Mr Benson-Pope said that the
government is assisting the Marlborough District
Council to review all permits and conditions,
including those issued since 1991.
"Marlborough is a special
case because it has around 700 individual sites
- this is two thirds of the country’s aquaculture
farms. The council is grabbing the ‘bull by the
horns’ to get all the permits under one system
in one go," Mr Benson-Pope said.
"The council will receive
$123,000 to support its work to set up a streamlined
one-stop-shop process and to consolidate aquaculture
consent conditions.
"Marlborough has traditionally
been a leader in aquaculture and this initiative
to upgrade their permits is yet another example
of their proactive management approach.
"I expect that the knowledge
gained in Marlborough will be shared with other
councils to assist them to do similar work,"
Mr Benson-Pope said.
Although individual permits
holders will still have to pay for some parts
of the overall review, the industry as a whole
will benefit with lower costs in the future. In
recognition of this the New Zealand Marine Farming
Association (a Marlborough-based industry grouping)
is also contributing $20,000 to assist with the
process.
The 2006 Sir Peter Blake Youth
Environment Forum
Forty-five 16 to 18 year-olds from 15 regions
around the country will be attending the Sir Peter
Blake Youth Environment Forum. This will be held
in Wellington from 24 to 28 April 2006.
The Youth Environment Forum
is hosted by the Ministry for the Environment
in partnership with the Sir Peter Blake Trust.
The forum is open to young people
with a keen interest in the environment. It provides
an invaluable opportunity for them to have a voice
on environmental issues, and to learn first hand
about environmental management.
At the forum, the youth delegates
work on practical projects that would help them
to understand the many perspectives considered
in environmental management and decision-making,
and hopefully inspire them to get involved in
local action in their regions.
The projects this year will focus on the coastal/marine
environment, cellphone and computer waste, and
good urban design planning.
The youth delegates will also
measure their personal impact on the environment
by conducting daily waste audits at their accommodation.
One of the benefits of the national
forum is that the delegates share their regional
perspectives and meet other young people with
a common interest in the environment. They will
also meet with Environment Minister David Benson-Pope,
Ministry for the Environment Acting Chief Executive
Sue Powell and Sir Peter Blake Trust Executive
Director Mark Orams.
The 2004 Youth Environment Forum
'Deeds, not words' was the theme adopted by delegates
during the forum, reinforced by the words of the
delegates when they made their project presentations
in front of Marian Hobbs on 10 December at the
Grand Hall, Parliament.
“The week really opened my eyes
to see that the little things that I can do, could
have huge effects. It certainly left me with some
fresh ideas of how I can bring some of the newly
found knowledge back to my home town. I am really
appreciative of the fact that I was given the
opportunity to go and attend such an impacting
event. I highly recommend it to anyone who is
given the chance; it might just change them too.”
—Maria Moretti, Golden Bay
“The Sir Peter Blake Youth Environment
Forum was a great and memorable experience… I
didn’t know what was going to happen… but boy
did I learn a lot! I had a great time and I achieved
my main goal of increasing my environmental awareness
by quite a lot in fact….
When school starts back up I
will spread the word around schools hopefully
to encourage other environmental enthusiasts like
myself to have a greater contribution towards
the Northland environment” — Cole Rudolph
“We really do have some outstanding
young people in this country — full of energy
and enthusiasm for our beautiful natural environment
and already making important contributions to
conservation. It was a privilege to be involved.”
— Dr Mark Orams
“It was reassuring to witness
the passion, vigour and creativity of the delegates’
arguments. They want a safer, cleaner planet and
they want it now. They challenged me. They were
open to learning on a number of very different
issues. They also learnt that there are a range
of different solutions.” — Hon. Marian Hobbs
Article on the forum in February
2005 environz
How can I get involved in the
next Sir Peter Blake Youth Environment Forum?
The next forum is likely to be held in April 2007.
Nominations for that forum will be sought through
regional councils and schools early in 2007.
