A special tribunal has agreed to a variation on the Kawarau Water Conservation Order that would prohibit the damming of the Nevis river , a tributary of the Kawarau.  The variation was sought by Fish & Game back in 2008.

One of the key factors in the tribunal’s decision was the recent discovery of a rare species of galaxiid known as the Gollum Galaxias in the Nevis, the only place it has been found in Otago. Galaxiids are small native freshwater fish that are in decline nationally due to loss and degradation of their habitat.  And they are pretty cute, check out Gollum!

Gollum Galaxias, image by Richard Allibone

The Nevis is unique. It falls steeply through remote Central Otago tussockland and through a series of spectacular gorges, making it one of the South Island’s most popular kayaking rivers.

Kayakers on the Nevis, image by Anthony Longman

It has been eyed up for a hydro dam by Pioneer Generation for years, but now thanks to the efforts of Fish & Game, and of course the Gollum Galaxias, it will run free forever.

With Water Conservation Orders under attack in Canterbury, and a dam on the West Coast’s Mokihinui river being granted resource consent, it’s nice to hear some good news for our wild rivers!

The Wild Rivers campaign was stoked to hear it – they’ve only just launched and the Mokihinui is a prominent precedent-setting proposal to destroy a river ranked seven in the country for natural values.

Metiria rafting the Mokihinui

Here at the Greens we’ve certainly done heaps in and out of Parliament to tackle the threat to this premiere wild river. Our Co-leader Metiria Turei rafted it last year to check it out first hand. The Greens firmly oppose damming irreplaceable wild rivers like the Mokihinui – it’s unnecessary for energy supply, and it’s conservation sacrilege.

Peter Dunne welcomed Brownlee’s ‘burp’, perhaps inspired by the hunting lobby being members of the Wild River campaign. Labour slapped Brownlee down for his indiscretion. However, Charles Chauvel seemed to imply that Brownlee should be damming the river, without actually saying as much – or at least that’s how I interpret his three paragraph “secondly” point. Well Mr Chauvel, I recommend you read the Wild Rivers campaign information – it’s clear we don’t need to dam rivers to have a renewable energy future. Maybe I’ve misread him.

Mokihinui from the air

Anyway, I digress. So what does Brownlee know? While most media and comments have focused on the fact he shouldn’t interfere in the RMA consenting process – for which a decision is imminent, and will probably be appealed to the Environment Court either way – they’ve overlooked that there are two ticks required for this terrible project. Apart from the RMA, the dam requires a concession under the Conservation Act because it is on public conservation land.

And in this case, Meridian has offered a dodgy land-swap as I wrote here earlier this week.

Brownlee sits around the Cabinet table with Groser – indeed they’re holding hands in the rush to mine National Parks – and may well know something about the concession and landswap. I guess we’ll find out one day. Here’s hoping they’ve seen the dam proposal for what it is, a sacrifice of permanent, public natural capital for temporary, private physical capital – irreversible and not renewable at all.

If the dam does get approved contrary to Brownlee’s brain-burp, I’ll be the first to hop down to the river to stare down a bulldozer, if my minders will let me…

It’s great to see diverse groups – tree-huggers, deer-stalkers, bird-watchers, knobbly-kneed trampers, sharp-edged climbers, risky rafters, kool-kat kayakers, and angelic anglers – representing “over 100,000 New Zealanders” and united in seeking to protect wild rivers from inappropriate and unnecessary hydro-electric and irrigation water storage dams.

They’re not saying no hydro or storage anywhere, but that we have a finite number of wild rivers left, and must protect them from being picked off one-by-one.

The groups are Fish & Game, Federated Mountain Clubs, Forest & Bird, Whitewater NZ, the Council of Outdoor Recreation Associations of NZ, the NZ Rafting Association, the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater Anglers and the Environment and Conservation Organisations of NZ.

The various groups point out the public values for conservation and recreation that are inherent to wild rivers, and are lost if they are dammed. For Whitewater NZ it’s enjoyment of the water, and the tourism industry; for Fish and Game it’s the fishing, of course, and the importance of Water Conservation Orders (that the Govt seems keen to get rid of); for FMC it’s the ability to walk and camp in a natural setting, of which wild rivers form the “lifeblood”; and Forest and Bird cite the unique wild river wildlife – native eels and fish, and endangered blue ducks.

The groups have fought hard for decades to get protection of wild lakes and rivers such as Lake Manapouri and the mighty Motu River. Water conservation orders have been a crucial tool in protecting such waterways, but the future of the orders, and the fate of dozens of other threatened wild rivers, is in peril.

They also note that we’ve already sacrificed many wild rivers, so there are a finite number left. They say, “Damming them is irresponsible and short-sighted, especially when there are much more responsible and sustainable options.” They’ve done their homework on the energy and irrigation needs too, which a summary of the alternative solution, and the choice, on their website. They also think that:

Energy planning must become more strategic, focusing on efficiency rather than building more dams. The Electricity Commission has said that NZ could make savings of 6400 gigawatt hours a year – equivalent to 20 Mokihinui dams – at less cost than building new electricity generators. New Zealand also has plentiful wind and geothermal resources that can be better developed to generate electricity. Innovative emerging technologies also show promise.

Industrial-scale farming is demanding more water from rivers to irrigate land that is naturally too dry for dairy cows. Farming use should be appropriate to the climate and land.

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