16 January 2019

News of environmental, heritage and conservation happenings brought to you by the Environment and Conservation Organisations of New Zealand - ECO.

Kia Ora <<First Name>>

News from ECO Executive 

ECO looks forward to the challenges and achievements of 2019.  It is bound to be a very full agenda.   This will be an especially busy year given the dynamics of changes to the biosphere and our local ecosystems under the pressures of climate change, and plans that this mid-term New Zealand government has to achieve environmental, social justice and other reforms.  There are many deadlines for comment looming in the calendar (see below).
 
ECO invites our member bodies and others to tell us what you’re doing and your successes and disappointments, events and celebrations – address these communications to eco@eco.org.nz with the subject line ''ECO Member body activities''.
 
ECO’s Executive Committee will be reviewing what we work on and how but we also have a huge workload in front of us with the core work of ECO.  We would welcome help with the workload and suggestions from member bodies of what are the things that ECO does or could do that you value most or least – but bear in mind that our resources are slim and there is no army of people to deploy.
You can see our objectives  and functions in our constitution at http://www.eco.org.nz/about/eco-constitution.html
 
New Zealand and the fishing industry
New Zealand has always styled itself as a public-spirited cooperative country in the international arena.  This coming week there opens at The Hague, in the Netherlands, a meeting of the countries involved in the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Organisation (SPRFMO).  Co-chair of ECO, Barry Weeber, will attend but he will be on the New Zealand delegation representing environmental non-government organisations, and the government puts limits on what he can say.
Cath Wallace reports that at the meeting between New Zealand officials, fishing industry representatives, and environmental groups in preparation for this meeting, there was discussion and disagreement about several issues.  These included implementing agreed measures to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems from seabed trawling, and a dispute between Australia and New Zealand over allocation of rights to fish in the “Westpac Bank”, a high seas fishing ground that is likely part of a stock in the NZ Exclusive Economic Zone. 
New Zealand environmental groups are concerned that the officials are under intense pressure from the dominant big companies in the New Zealand fishing industry.  On the protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems, the government seems to be giving in to pressure to interpret the rules and agreements in ways that are inconsistent with the requirements.
On the allocation dispute, we are concerned that New Zealand officials may damage our relationship with Australia and lose credibility with the other countries by trying to insist on an inflated share of the fish on the Westpac Bank and other high seas areas – by claiming very high proportions such as 95% of the total.  With a total of about 100 tonnes of orange roughy in contention, we cannot understand why New Zealand should take such a greedy position, even declaring in a paper that in this case the decision should not be based on fairness and equity.
We hope the Minister will give officials direction to not sacrifice New Zealand’s reputation for environmental care and fairness to the greed of the New Zealand fishing companies.

Member Concerns
Bumper beech mast year could badly impact West Coast penguins

The West Coast Penguin Trust is worried birds could die during a bumper beech forest cycle this year. The group's manager, Inger Perkins, said they were concerned the event could hamper the breeding success of Fiordland crested and blue penguins.
She told RadioNZ: "In one site where we had 10 cameras I think in every single nest the eggs or the chicks were taken by stoats, so something was clearly different and we believe it was because of a beech mast nearby."
See - https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/379995/mega-mast-boost-for-predators-puts-penguins-at-risk


Environment and Conservation News

Traps set in Tauranga for Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

A lone male Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) has been found in a house in Mt Maunganui and traps have been set up in the area as a precaution, in case he is not alone. The NZ Biosecurity spokesperson - Dr Catherine Duthie of MPI  said "We are well prepared for this type of detection and we've been working closely with industry on prevention activities and education for some years."  Biosecurity New Zealand has some of the most up-to-date detection technology currently available, including pest specific traps and lures, and highly effective detector dogs. Alerts from the public are an important part of the NZ's biosecurity system, allowing MPI to act quickly to eliminate any biosecurity threats. This find is a timely reminder that New Zealand's biosecurity system relies on more than just protections at the border. Read the whole story here.

Plastic Waste associated with disease on Coral Reefs

Coral Reefs are productive habitats in nutrient poor waters. The symbiotic relationship between corals and algae creates the foundation for the greatest biodiversity in the ocean. They create a habitat for other species and are critical for fisheries.
We are told that Coral Reefs are being destroyed by climate change and bleaching, but last year a team of scientists, lead by Dr. Joleah Lamb of Cornell University surveyed 159 coral reefs in the Asia Pacific Region and found that billions of tonnes of plastic items were entangled on the coral. The likelihood of disease, when corals are infested with plastic, increased from 4% - 89%.  Lamb found that the surface of plastic acted as a perfect breeding ground for micro-organisms that can trigger disease. Bottle tops and toothbrushes, commonly made of polypropylene, were shown to become heavily inhabited by a bacteria globally associated with a group of coral diseases known as "white syndrome" - which also turns coral white.  Lamb's study demonstrated that reduction in the amount of plastic waste in the ocean would benefit the coral by reducing the disease associated with their mortality. More in the Cornell Chronicle story.


The Way Forward

Plastic Bottle deposit scheme in UK proving a hit with Shoppers

Shoppers at selected stores of 4 supermarket chains in the UK have been taking place in a trial using "reverse vending machines" - designed to reduce littering and recycle single use plastic bottles.  The UK government proposed a deposit return scheme - expecting retailers to be responsible for properly recycling their plastic containers, in line with its own efforts to reduce the impact of single-use plastics on the environment. One supermarket chain, Iceland, has returned more than £30,000 in refunds in only 5 stores since introducing the machines last year. Will McCallum, Head of Oceans at Greenpeace UK, said: “The success of Iceland’s reverse vending machine trial demonstrates that deposit return schemes to boost recycling and tackle plastic pollution are both popular with consumers and eminently doable. The UK government must deliver on this promise to introduce a deposit return scheme without delay, and ensure that it covers containers of all sizes and materials.” Find this story from the Guardian here.
 

NZ Wine Industry - Future effects of Climate Change and Mitigation Strategies

The NZ Winegrowers Research Centre (NZWRC) created in 2017, is charged with developing a process to guide the NZ wine industry into the future.  Following industry consultation, it identified climate change as one of its research priorities and is in the process of developing a programme of work looking at the impact of climate change and potential adaptation techniques. 
Climate change is bringing increased erratic and extreme weather events as well as increasing droughts and heatwaves.  Water stress in vineyards can reduce grape yield and negatively affect fruit composition. With longer growing seasons, fruit is ripening earlier, necessitating earlier harvests and causing reduced wine quality. Weather variations can affect sugar, acid and tannin content which causes taste variation from vintage to vintage. NZ Sauvignon Blanc, which makes up 85% of our export sales, may risk losing its distinctive flavour with increased temperatures liable to promote a changed flavour profile.  Soil management practices will need to change to better manage grapevines’ water supply, control vigour and avoid soil erosion. The likely increase in pests and diseases will necessitate an ecosystem-based management practice that integrates biological, cultural, physical, and chemical tools. A recent Victoria University of Wellington study found most adaptation techniques would involve significant investment in new equipment, locations and vines.
With the formation of the NZWRC it is hoped viticulturists can look forward to the provision of well-researched assistance enabling them to flourish through warming times.

Spotted on the Net 

Erratic motion of North Magnetic Pole forces experts to update model that aids global navigation.

On 30 January, world’s geomagnetism experts are set to update the World Magnetic Model, which describes the planet’s magnetic field that underlies all modern navigation, from the systems that steer ships at sea to Google Maps on smartphones. By early 2018, the World Magnetic Model was in trouble. Researchers from NOAA and the British Geological Survey in Edinburgh had been doing their annual check of how well the model was capturing  the variations in Earth’s magnetic field,  when they realised that it was so inaccurate that it was about to exceed the acceptable limit for navigational errors. To fix the World Magnetic Model,  three years of recent data, which included the 2016 geomagnetic pulse, were input. The new version should remain accurate until the next regularly scheduled update in 2020. Scientists are working to understand why the magnetic field is changing so dramatically. Geomagnetic pulses, like the one that happened in 2016, might be traced back to ‘hydromagnetic’ waves arising from deep in the core. And the fast motion of the north magnetic pole could be linked to a high-speed jet of liquid iron beneath Canada. Read more from the Nature article here.

NZ developers beaten to the market with GE Fruit

Scientists at Plant and Food have been beaten to market for the sale of red-fleshed apples despite mounting a campaign to promote their own GE product and suggesting it is ‘forbidden' as an excuse to weaken regulation of novel foods. In order to get their GE fruit to the market they have sent their GE apples to San Francisco for a "taste testing" to escape the long term safety requirements of New Zealand and EU regulations.  Yet there are already traditionally bred red-fleshed apples on the market. Lubera, a Swiss company, has many varieties of red-fleshed apples that are sweet, tangy, crispy and scab resistant already commercialised and on the market. The global demand for Non-GMO products is growing because of the desire for natural, organic safe food and sustainable agriculture. Industry cannot be left to police themselves, as it is a chorus of vested interests that is demanding gene-edited products have no regulation. New Zealand regulations for food and environmental safety are vital to protect the country and New Zealand's reputation as a premium food producer from the dangers and human errors of GMOs. See the article from Voxy  and GM Watch.

Legal Assistance  Fund changes
The Government has made important changes to the Legal Assistance Fund administered by the Ministry for the Environment.  From 1 July the fund will again be available to take appeals to higher courts and a change introduced by the last Government to make it harder to tale appeals is being removed.
ECO look forward to further changes including that it can be used for EEZ Act cases and other cases involving the Environmental Protection Agency.
For further information see http://www.mfe.govt.nz/more/funding/environmental-legal-assistance-fund/about-fund