Media Release
3 December 2020
Thriving Southland: Southland’s freshwater picture brought together in one report
Thriving Southland today released a literature review, The Southland Science Report, detailing the water situation in Southland.
The Southland Science report, written by Landpro Ltd, compiles all the science and data that has been publicly released about Southland’s land, soil and water into one report.
Thriving Southland Chair and farmer, Ewen Mathieson, says “it’s the first time that anyone has pulled together all the most useful fact-based information in one place. The Science Report gives us a snapshot in a fast-paced moving world, which means the information may change but is the most up-to-date and relevant information right now.
“There is great information available from Environment Southland, LAWA, the levy organisations, Crown institutes and government – but sometimes it’s hard knowing where to start looking, and it can sometimes be an overwhelming volume of complex data. Farmers have been asking us for Southland’s data to be brought together and presented in a way that makes it easy for them to interpret,” says Ewen.
Thriving Southland is an independent organisation that supports communities, through Catchment Groups, to create a better future by focusing on projects that build on Southland’s prosperity, heritage, environment and health.
There are 25 Catchment Groups in Southland, each bringing their communities together to learn about their catchments and find projects that work for their unique areas. Many Groups are currently focusing on water quality projects and what they can do to look after the water for future generations.
Ewen adds, “part of our role is to provide information to Catchment Groups in a way that helps them identify issues and opportunities and find solutions that work for them and the community. This information has real applicability to support farmers and communities to make informed decisions for waterways in their catchments.”
“What the report says in different catchments may not always seem like good news but it actually poses an exciting opportunity for the Catchment Groups and communities to come together, work together, stimulate imagination and make a very real difference on the ground.”
Ends
You can read the report at https://www.thrivingsouthland.co.nz/science-report/
Please note: more water quality information has been released by Environment Southland November 2020, which can be seen here. The Science Report will be updated when new information, data and science is published.
About Thriving Southland
Thriving Southland is an independent organisation that supports communities, through Catchment Groups, to create a better future by focusing on projects that build on Southland’s prosperity, heritage, environment and health. There are 25 Catchment Groups in Southland, each bringing their communities together to learn about their catchments and find projects that work for their unique areas. Many Groups are currently focusing on water quality projects and what they can do to look after the water for future generations.
Thriving Southland is funded by Ministry of Primary Industries.
