biogeosci.nz

If you're interested in my submission to MfE's Freshwater (Action for Healthy Waterways) Consultation , I've pasted the text below, or you can see it as a pdf . Personal submission on Action for healthy waterways: A discussion document on national direction for our essential freshwater This submission is from Prof Troy Baisden, holding the Bay of Plenty Regional Council Chair in Freshwater Science at the University of Waikato. My background spans watershed science and climate change, including a PhD in Soil Science from the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at the University of California, Berkeley. I have spent a significant proportion of 19 years in New Zealand research working across the science-policy interfaces. I am a Principal Investigator in Te Pūnaha Matatini, New Zealand’s transdisciplinary Centre of Research Excellence in complexity and networks. I have contributed to the New Zealand Freshwater Sciences Society’s (NZFSS) submission and ha...

Fast paced journalism and social media bubbles seem to be promulgating misinformation about what the government has proposed for freshwater.  Here's an  example .  Is there really an expectation of 85% reductions on nitrate leaching in the Waikato?  No. Then where does 85% come from? The new regulations shift nitrate limits shift nitrogen limits from 6.9 mg/L of nitrogen to roughly 1 mg/L. The value of 6.9 mg in old frameworks was precise, but nearly meaningless. It corresponded to nitrate levels actually killing organisms due to direct toxicity. This would have almost never happened due to failing ecological health. The new focus is on the ecological health. Too much nitrogen causes too much algal growth somewhere between 0.4 and 1 mg/L. Most people will see that as slime, in the water or on the rocks. However fish, or the little critters fish eat will experience it a different way. The slimy algae takes up oxygen by day and when it is alive. But at night it respire...

Ask a scientist working on Land and Water issues? A guide from Prof Troy Baisden The MfE Action for Healthy Waterways Consultation aims to be a turning point, a waterfall moment, for our lakes and rivers. The intent is relatively simple , yet the documents and changes are big and complex. Public consultation meetings are already underway around the country. Have your say, and help others do so.  I've created this document because, too often, our leading researchers and academics seem to hide from debate on this issue, when the public and stakeholders affected need support thinking through their positions. Major NGOs and sector organisations have created or are creating guides for consultation and submission. Here, I've tried to fill the usual gap in support from academic research to help people and groups understand where to focus. I’ve compiled all the questions in a single document and offer answers to five key questions that may help people and groups responding to the con...