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Motu River at forefront of water protection campaign
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
THE Motu River, a wild and scenic river connecting the East Coast region to the Bay of Plenty, is in the spotlight this week.

As the first river in the country to win protection through a Water Conservation Order (WCO) it is at the forefront of a campaign to raise awareness of the country’s most outstanding rivers and the WCOs that protect them, says Eastern Fish and Game manager Rob Pitkethley.

Only 15 rivers and some lakes are protected by WCOs.

While there was wide recognition of New Zealand’s network of National Parks not many people know WCOs provide similar high-level protection for some of the country’s most precious, pristine rivers, he says.

The Motu River has a role which goes far beyond sport fishing, to include all sorts of adventure tourism and recreation from jet boating to white water rafting, and more recently, mountain biking.

“There are some spectacular scenic settings which have been safeguarded — the river can’t be dammed or have water taken out thanks to the conservation order.”

The WCO stipulates that the river should be preserved as far as possible in its natural state from the Motu Falls to the SH35 bridge.

“The WCO on the Motu should be recognised and appreciated for the wonderful recreational and tourism opportunities it affords both Gisborne and the Bay of Plenty regions,” says Mr Pitkethley.

The Motu WCO is only for the middle and lower parts of the river but the upper river is unprotected and exposed to agricultural effects such as nutrient and sediment contamination in places.

Mr Pitkethley says these contaminants travel downstream into what is supposed to be a protected outstanding area.

“It would be nice to see a higher level of protection for the upper river through better land use practices and riparian planting to give effect to the WCO protected nationally significant mid and lower river.”

Since the Motu WCO came into effect Fish and Game has worked with a variety of other organisations — including the Enviromental Defence Society, Forest and Bird and Whitewater New Zealand — to get more WCOs in place around the country, protecting biodiversity, recreational, scenic and cultural values for all New Zealanders.

The WCO campaign this week includes the launch of the www.OutstandingRivers.org.nz WCO website, the erection of WCO signage and their unveiling ceremonies at key locations around the country to identify those waterways of national significance, and raft and kayak flotillas down WCO protected rivers.

Former All Blacks captain Anton Oliver is fronting the campaign in his role as WCO ambassador.
Pristine: As the first river in the country to win protection through a Water Conservation Order (WCO), the Motu River is at the forefront of a national campaign. It aims to raise awareness of the country’s most outstanding rivers and the WCOs that protect them.
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