Paula Thompson BOP Regional Councillor www.envbop.govt.nz

'To waste, to destroy our natural resources, to skin and exhaust the land instead of using it so as to increase its usefulness, will result in undermining in the days of our children the very prosperity which we ought by right to hand down to them amplified and developed"

- Theodore Roosevelt -1907

In NZ we have 2 types of local government –Territorial Councils (District and City) and Regional Councils. The former have key roles in providing local services –be it water, wastewater, storm water, roads, footpaths, libraries, parks and reserves etc. They also have planning responsibilities for their local areas. Regional Councils have planning roles across entire regions. They derive their powers and responsibilities from the Resource Management Act –all 797 pages of it. The whole point of the RMA is to promote the sustainable management of natural and physical resources-Regional Councils are empowered to produce Strategies, Policies, Rules that regulate and guide the use and management of land, water, air, soil, minerals, and other resources in the region. The Regional Council ‘Policy Statement ‘is the umbrella ‘natural resources planning document' for the whole Region.

The Bay of Plenty area subject to the Regional Council ‘jurisdiction' is approx 21 000km2 comprising approx 12000 km2 of land and the balance as coastal marine area. The Region includes 18 off shore islands and the sea extending out 12 nautical miles. There are 5 large estuaries, 8 major rivers, 2 large Harbours and 12 of the Rotorua Lakes, which are the focus of water quality protection and restoration programmes. Over time the region has lost large areas of natural cover by conversion for residential and productive use. There are increasing pressures on natural habitats and productive land. Animal and plant pests create additional pressures.

Our coastline is in a state of constant change and erosion is set to continue with climate change. Fresh water issues are top of mind with millions being spent by Crown and Council on the clean-up of the Rotorua Lakes and continuing work on water quality of other fresh water sources. Harbour waters are under increasing pressure from more intensive land use, coastal structures, discharges etc. Air quality is a real problem in the Rotorua Air shed. The Region is hazard prone with recent major flooding a reminder of the cost of nature's forces.

Territorial and Regional Councils have different focus –unquestionably, the BOP Regional Council has a significant environmental focus and for the entire region. The BOP environment is both splendid and fragile. It is unique and precious. While work will be done over the next year or so on all local government working smarter –there is a need for our environment to be managed and nurtured so its well being is our gift to those that follow on.

‘We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children'

- Native American Proverb.