‘Lag-effect’ politics and the politicisation of New Zealand farmers: Where to from here?

Authors

  • Ronlyn Duncan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34900/lpr.v8i1-2.1044

Abstract

Responding to diffuse agricultural pollution is plagued by the considerable period of time it can take before ecological thresholds are breached and the impacts of actions on land become evident in water.  Reflecting on the recent election campaign and the findings of research conducted in 2013 to understand  farmers’ perspectives on media claims that agriculture is diminishing New Zealand’s ‘100% Pure’ brand, this paper examines the social and political dimensions of this lag-effect and argues that the politicisation of New Zealand farmers has gone too far.  The paper examines the implications of lag-effect politics for farmers and the new government that has inherited an already fraught implementation phase of the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Barnes, A.P., Toma, L., Willock, J. and Hall, C. (2013). Comparing a ‘budge’ to a ‘nudge’: Farmer responses to coluntary and compulsory compliance in a water quality management regime. Journal of Rural Studies 32: pp.448-459

Blackstock, K.L., Ingram, J., Burton, R., Brown, K.M. and Slee, B. (2010). Understanding and influencing behaviour change by farmers to improve water quality. Science of the Total

Environment, 408: pp.5631-5638

Buelow, F.A. (2017). Do everything you can, but not (yet) getting it right: Challenges to Brussels’ great expectations for water quality. Case Studies in the Environment, January

Cope, M. (2005). Coding qualitative data In Hay, I. (ed). Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography, Second Edition. Oxford University Press: South Melbourne

Copeland, C. (2014). Clean Water Act and Pollutant Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs). CRS Report to Congress 7-5700. Washington: Congressional Research Service http://nationalaglawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/assets/crs/R42752.pdf (accessed 1 February, 2015)

Duncan, R. (2013). Converting community knowledge into catchment nutrient limits: a constructivist analysis of a New Zealand collaborative approach to water management. Nature and Culture 8(2): pp.205-225

Duncan, R. 2014a. A view from the farm-gate: farmers’ perspectives on water quality. Lincoln Planning Review 6(1-2): pp.18-24

Duncan, R. (2014b). Regulating agricultural land use to managing water quality: The challenges for science and policy in enforcing limits on non-point source pollution in New Zealand. Land Use Policy 41: pp.378-387

Duncan, R. (2017). Rescaling knowledge and governance and enrolling the future in New Zealand: a co-production analysis of Canterbury’s water management reforms to regulate diffuse pollution. Society and Natural Resources, 30(4): pp.436-452

Goolsby, D.A., Battaglin, W.A., Aulenbach, B.T. and Hooper, R.P. (2001). Nitrogen Input to the Gulf of Mexico. Journal of Environmental Quality. 30: pp.329-336

Holland, P. (2014). The Dirty Dairying Campaign and the Clean Streams Accord. Lincoln Planning Review, 6(1-2): pp.63-69

Howard-Williams, C., Davies-Colley, R., Rutherford, K. and Wilcock, R. (2010). Diffuse pollution and freshwater degradation: New Zealand Perspectives. Selected paper from the 14th International Conference of the IWA Diffuse Pollution Specialist Group, DIPCON 2010

Howden, N.J.K., Burt, T.P., Worrall, F., Mathias, S.A. and Whelan, M.J.(2013). Farming for Water Quality: Balancing Food Security and Nitrate Pollution in UK River Basins. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 103(2): pp.397-407

Land and Water Forum. (2010). Report of the Land and Water Forum: A Fresh Start for Freshwater. http://www.landandwater.org.nz (accessed 30 March, 2011)

Land and Water Forum. (2012). Second Report of the Land and Water Forum: Setting Limits for Water Quality and Quantity Freshwater Policy- and Plan-Making Through Collaboration. http://www.landandwater.org.nz/(accessed 1 February, 2013)

Land and Water Forum. (2017a). Land and Water Forum Commentary on Implementation of the NPS-FM. Available from http://www.landandwater.org.nz/Site/Resources.aspx#H126743-1 (accessed 30 October, 2017)

Land and Water Forum. (2017b). Submission on the Clean Water Consultation. Available from http://www.landandwater.org.nz/Site/Resources.aspx#H126743-1 (accessed 30 October, 2017)

MBIE (Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment), (2015). Business Growth Agenda 2015. (http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/business/business-growth-agenda/towards-2025) (accessed 2 February, 2016)

Memon, A., Duncan, R. and Spicer, A. (2012). The Hurunui Waiau Zone Implementation Programme as a Collaborative Planning Process: A Preliminary Review. Christchurch, Environment Canterbury Regional Council. Available from http://ecan.govt.nz/publications/Reports/hurunui-waiau-zip-collaborative-planning-process.pdf

MfE and Stats NZ (Ministry for the Environment & Statistics New Zealand) (2015). New Zealand’s Environmental Reporting Series: Environment Aotearoa 2015. Available from www.mfe.govt.nz and www.stats.govt.nz

MfE and Stats NZ (Ministry for the Environment & Stats NZ). (2017). New Zealand’s Environmental Reporting Series: Our freshwater 2017. Retrieved from www.mfe.govt.nz and www.stats.govt.nz. (accessed 1 June, 2017)

MfE (Ministry for the Environment). (2017). National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management Implementation Review: National Themes Report. Wellington: Ministry for the Environment

Morton, L.W. and Brown, S.S. (eds). (2011). Pathways for Getting to Better Water Quality: The Citizen Effect. Springer: Dordrech

OECD. (2017). Diffuse pollution, degraded waters: emerging policy solutions. OECD Studies on Water. OECD Publishing: Paris

PCE (Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment). (2012). Water quality in New Zealand: Understanding the Science. Wellington: PCE. Available at www.pce.parliament.nz

PCE (Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment). (2013). Water quality in New Zealand: Land Use and Nutrient Pollution. Wellington: PCE. Available at www.pce.parliament.nz

Sanford, W.E. and Pope, J.P. (2013). Quantifying Groundwater’s Role in Delaying Improvements to Chesapeake Bay Water Quality. Environmental Science & Technology, 47, pp. 13330-13338

Sims, J.T. and Volk, J. (2013). Nutrient Management Strategies for the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, USA: In: Accurate and efficient use of nutrients on farms. (Eds L.D. Currie and C L. Christensen)

Occasional Report No. 26. Fertilizer and Lime Research Centre, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand. http://www.massey.ac.nz/~flrc/workshops/13/paperlist13.htm (accessed 10 November 2013)

Skelton, P. and Caygill, D. (2013). Plan to set water quality standards. Media Report. The Press. Monday 2 December. Christchurch, The Press, p. A13

Voulvoulis, N., Arpon, K.D. and Gikoumis, T. (2017). The EU Water Framework Directive: From great expectations to problems with implementation. Science of the Total Environment, 575: pp.358-366

Downloads

Published

2017-12-21

How to Cite

Duncan, R. (2017). ‘Lag-effect’ politics and the politicisation of New Zealand farmers: Where to from here?. Lincoln Planning Review, 8(1-2), 39–48. https://doi.org/10.34900/lpr.v8i1-2.1044

Issue

Section

Research