SUSTAINABLE LAND USE INITIATIVE (SLUI)

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1 Report No Information Only - No Decision Required SUSTAINABLE LAND USE INITIATIVE (SLUI) 1. PURPOSE 1.1. This report is to update Members about progress on Council s Sustainable Land Use Initiative (SLUI) for the period 24 April to 30 June 2015 (NB, this is not a full end of year report as there are still invoices to process from works carried out in late June). 2. RECOMMENDATION That the Committee recommends that Council: a. receives the information contained in Report No and Annexes. 3. FINANCIAL IMPACT 3.1. There are no direct financial impacts associated with this report, however it does update Members on a number of financial matters associated with SLUI. 4. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT 4.1. Consultation was carried out through the Long-Term Plan submission process The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has a key role in funding and overseeing this activity 5. BACKGROUND 5.1 The Sustainable Land Use Initiative (SLUI) has been in operation in our region since The initiative, targeting hill country erosion, is funded from Central Government s Hill Country Erosion Fund (HCEF), Horizons rates and farmer contributions. 5.2 SLUI is delivered in partnership with the HCEF and Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) through a contracted works programme which sets targets for plans and works completed. 5.3 This is the final year of the current contract from 2010 until June Changing targets and priorities for SLUI have led to Horizons formally requesting variations to the contract over the last two years. This year s contract variation was formally approved and signed off by MPI and Horizons on 9 October Sustainable Land Use Initiative (SLUI) Page 1

2 The new contact targets are shown in Table 1. Contract Variation Contract Target Original Contract Approved Variation WFP Completed (no.) 100 n/a WFP area mapped (ha) 55,000 35,000 Area mapped in target catchments (ha) 41,000 26,250 Afforestation (ha) * Retirement (ha) Riparian Retirement (ha) Managed Retirement (ha) * Poles planted (no.) 17,500 20,000 Area protected by space pole planting (ha) Other non retirement (ha) Table 1: Contract Variation *1 revision of limit on Afforestation area through the HCEF lifting to 20 ha but with exceptions above, this area being available based on ranking the effectiveness of the planting, erosion benefits for the property, catchment and broader infrastructure (this needs to be confirmed through SEDNET revisions or other channels). *2 the HCEF grant may not be used for managed retirement incentives until MPI has approved the method for calculating the incentive 6. REPORT ON PROGRESS Whole Farm Plan Development The target for completing Whole Farm Plans (WFP) is 35,000 hectares mapped. LandVision Ltd has completed 41 plans to date on contract to HRC. Table 2 summarises progress toward WFP development by plan as it is not possible to accurately calculate the area of the farms until the final maps have been completed. Graph 1 shows the area of WFPs mapped by year, while Maps 1 and 2 (appended) refer to the progress on WFP development. While there are only 41 plans completed, 61 plans were mapped at the end of June, with shapefiles due to Horizons by mid July, to account for final figures. Whole Farm Plan Development Contract 1 Contract Farms Mapped * Plans Completed * Plans Delivered * Cumulative * Table 2: Whole Farm Plan Development to 30 June 2015 Notes: *1 Number of farms physically mapped (the majority of these are contracted to LandVision Ltd). *2 Number of plans completed, including mapping, financial, physical document, and entered into HRC tracking system. *3 Plans delivered and presented to landowner (this signals start of implementation process and Stage 1 of SLUI having been completed). *4 Cumulative total of completed WFPs Sustainable Land Use Initiative (SLUI) Page 2

Graph 1: Area of WFPs mapped by year (hectares). NB: Red line reflects annual area target 6.1. A spreadsheet to manage priority assessment is continually updated for proposed WFPs.

3 Graph 1: Area of WFPs mapped by year (hectares). NB: Red line reflects annual area target 6.1. A spreadsheet to manage priority assessment is continually updated for proposed WFPs. The priority list for WFPs currently has 61 plans covering approximately 35,050 ha (100% of the hectare target). A new list for WFP has four plans covering 2,228 ha The contract with Ministry for Primary Industries states that 70% of our mapping effort, by area, will be undertaken within the priority catchment areas. To date 54 of the 61 (89%) plans are within these catchments. This does not mean the plans outside the priority catchment do not have priority land within them Staff have four new WFPs on the list for and another 13 landowners with information awaiting return. Four new prospects have been given preliminary information. Implementation 6.4. Implementation generally begins the year following completion of the WFP. The SLUI programme budgets on implementation taking at least five years to complete the major works and longer to complete a pole planting programme. In Table 2 the emphasis is on plan production, originally against the plan target. The target is now based on an aerial completion, not number of plans. The tables below are presented to give an indication of plan uptake or implementation. We are continually reviewing all plans delivered to landowners and those who have never been active or haven t been active for some time are reviewed and the landowner is recontacted every year or so. Staff are about to receive a full list of their plans with instructions to update each plan s status. Table 3 looks at the uptake from recently completed plans. This table aims to give an indication of how successful the programme is in getting completed plans delivered to clients, discussed and agreed. Works will start either when finances are available or at the next planting season. Sustainable Land Use Initiative (SLUI) Page 3

4 Whole Farm Plan Implementation Current Delivery To date At 1 July At 1 Oct At 1 Jan To date Plans Completed Plans Delivered Plans Doing Works % Plans Doing Works TARGET* na x x x Table 3: Implementation Progress to 30 June 2015 Notes: /x Target met/not met * Internal targets have been set as follows; In the year following the plan being completed the % plans doing works will be - 1 July following 50% doing works - 1 October following 75% doing works - 1 January following 90% doing works 6.5. Once implementation programmes begin, staff will visit landowners to give advice on location and technical needs for work, help assess costs and agree on grant rates and on how and who will do the works. Once the work has been completed staff will inspect the work and help landowners make a claim for the grant available. This is then recorded against the Incentives and Works programme as shown in Table 4. Incentives and Works 6.6. Work contracted with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) for the financial year. Progress against targets is noted in Table 4 and is based on the contract variation. Contract Target Target Progress Comment WFP area mapped (ha) 35,000 35,000 Final shapefiles due mid July Area mapped in target catchments (ha) 26,250 Will meet 54 of 61 plans on the books Afforestation (ha) 1,000 1,372 Exceeded target Retirement (ha) Exceeded target Riparian retirement / Wetland (ha) On track, some claims outstanding Managed retirement (ha) Will not meet target Poles planted (#) 20,000 24,000 Exceeded target Area protected by pole planting (ha) Exceeded target Other non retirement works (ha) Will not meet target Internal reports to council (bimonthly) 5 5 Catch Ops Committee Reports to MPI 3 2 Due Jan, June, July (due end July) Governance reports and meetings na None planned Table 4: MPI Contract; Progress against Targets Incentives and Works (Grant Projects and Council Funded Projects) 6.7. For the financial year to 30 June the 344 individual implementation projects completed have had a grant cost of $1,148,655. The work types, cost and hectares treated are summarised in Table 5. NB, this is not the year-end figure as some projects are still proceeding through the financial system. Sustainable Land Use Initiative (SLUI) Page 4

5 Work Type Number of Claims Total Cost ($) Grant Paid ($) Grant Rate Average (%) Hectares Treated (Ha) Afforestation 13 1,441,962 77, ,372 Retirement , , Riparian retirement 84 1,176, , Wetland / Sediment trap ,287 72, Managed retirement 5 25,565 11, Space planting , , Gully Planting 31 82,505 40, Other 11 72,167 20, Grand Total 344 3,604,986 1,148, ,095 Table 5: Work Types and Grants 1 July June 2015 The breakdown of work completed by type and grant are shown in Graphs 2 and Graph 2: Area of SLUI works completed in Map C annexed to this report shows the proposed works against works to date. Sustainable Land Use Initiative (SLUI) Page 5

6 Graph 3: Cost of SLUI works completed in Claims for works completed to date in are approximately 124% by number and 89% by grant cost compared to The bulk of claims to date by dollar value are for riparian retirement and by number are space and gully planting of poles The applications for grant claims exceeded the funds available for Even with the variation to contract it appeared we would need to limit the number of claims. The second half of the year has seen 38 jobs postponed or cancelled, including many high value fencing jobs. Some landowners who had been told there would be no funding until were contacted and their jobs were brought forward to this year. Overall, we have spent less on grant projects than anticipated and will finish the year under budget. Activity and Contract Management The forestry valuation for our external auditors has been completed and a final report received A final funding announcement for HCEF was made by Minister Guy at Dougal McIntosh s Wanganui property on 1 July. The Minister observed our FR/JV forests which sustained minimal damage in the recent storm event Staff assisted at a Council SLUI workshop With late confirmation of HCEF funding and changes to the Annual Plan, staff have reworked the SLUI budget for and incorporated funding decisions into the new budget Attended the Afforestation Grant Scheme (AGS) announcement by Associate Minister Goodhew in the Wairarapa and accompanied the Minister to Murray s Nursery at Woodville. Sustainable Land Use Initiative (SLUI) Page 6

7 6.15. Attended Massey University students presentation of their Land Inventory mapping project. The mapping was carried out on a SLUI property Attended the Massey University Ag Hort Scholarship presentation evening and presented SLUI scholarships to Chris Vicars, Hannah Gibb, Alex Dickson, Cam Houston, Courtney Mitchell, Angela Lane and Josie Winters. Courtney and Josie have received scholarships in the past and were employed as summer students; both are completing research projects which have relevance to the SLUI programme. At the Massey evening scholarships worth more than $500,000 were given out to 120 students Met the new CEO of Atihau Inc., our largest SLUI farming enterprise, to discuss their SLUI WFP and the general direction of their work programme Met Willie Smith to discuss a research programme regarding on-farm storm resilience. This is proposed as a follow up survey from 2004, completed in conjunction with AgResearch. At this stage we have provided names of SLUI farmers to survey and test the questions for a full survey Met scientists regarding a possible Sustainable Farming Fund application looking to monitor and measure the success of erosion control works within the wider HCEF programme. Offered support to their funding bid Completed 11/12th contract report to MPI and sent final invoice. Final report due to MPI in late July Progressed work on a new contract to deliver WFP, which is now able to be completed with our funding levels and a clear work programme Staff helped coordinate a number of AGS applications for landowners. It appears this scheme has been well supported nationally. Within our region we know of applications for approximately 400 ha of afforestation, including at least one for manuka. Storm Event The storm event in late June caused considerable damage on hill country properties in the lower parts of the Wanganui and Rangitikei Districts. During the event, and in the week following, Wanganui staff were kept busy assisting with the storm response. By week three and four we were starting to get requests from landowners for advice and assistance. The staff response and work programmes that follow will largely be through the SLUI programme, however there are a number of non-slui target properties affected, especially small blocks and lifestyle blocks around Wanganui. Assistance to these people will be delivered through our Whanganui Catchment Strategy E-grant programme One question posed at this time is whether has SLUI worked. Obviously in many cases SLUI plantings are not mature enough to have prevented erosion. Anecdotal evidence suggests our oldest SLUI plantings have been effective and that more mature erosion control plantings and forestry land uses have less erosion damage than pasture alone. Examples include: - McIntosh, Wickham, McGregor, DeRoles and Stellingwerf FR/JV plantings all look to have minimal damage compared to pasture blocks nearby - By contrast, new plantings in Thompson and Chisholm FR/JV have had slip damage - Forestry blocks in mid rotation are mostly intact (harvest and post harvest blocks have damage) - Mature space plantings have less erosion. The photos below have been supplied by a land consultant. These are of neighbouring farms with similar geology, slope and rainfall. Sustainable Land Use Initiative (SLUI) Page 7

8 Photos supplied by Dan Elms Groundstock Ltd Sustainable Land Use Initiative (SLUI) Page 8

Slipping on Chisholm FR/JV photo John Jamieson 6.25. Staff have assisted the Science team in putting together a project for GNS Science to complete a landslide distribution and severity report.

9 Slipping on Chisholm FR/JV photo John Jamieson Staff have assisted the Science team in putting together a project for GNS Science to complete a landslide distribution and severity report. This should also help clarify our SLUI priority approach The storm event has affected completion of the programme and staff report seven projects with a grant value of approximately $53,000 have not been claimed because either the work has not been completed or access is restricted, preventing the works being inspected. In June staff time that normally be spent on SLUI was diverted to the oil spill and the storm response At the time of writing this report the impact on work is still unclear. Poplar and willow pole delivery had just begun and we have postponed harvest in nurseries to give more time for landowners to assess and respond. We do have contingency plans to help get pole planting programmes completed. The areas worst affected could involve up to 5,000 of the 30,000 poles to be planted this year. The contingency plans may add extra cost to the planting programme but no extra cost to the farmer Horizons FR/JV forests have been inspected but access is limited due to slips on tracks. It will take at least another month to fully assess damage There are some reports that farmers previously not interested in the SLUI programme may be rethinking. We may need to respond by increasing our WFP mapping targets over the next 2-3 years. 7. SIGNIFICANCE 7.1. This is not a significant decision according to the Council s Policy on Significance and Engagement. Kay Booth GOVERNANCE COORDINATOR Sustainable Land Use Initiative (SLUI) Page 9

10 ANNEXES A SLUI Target Parcels B C D SLUI Overview and Plan Progress SLUI Mapped Priority Land SLUI Works Tracking Sustainable Land Use Initiative (SLUI) Page 10

SUSTAINABLE LAND USE INITIATIVE (SLUI)

Report No. 17-125 Information Only - No Decision Required SUSTAINABLE LAND USE INITIATIVE (SLUI) 1. PURPOSE 1.1. This report is to update Members about progress on Council s Sustainable Land Use Initiative