Icon Lakes in New Zealand: Managing the Tension Between Land Development and Water Resource Protection

Abstract

The increasing intensity of land development in New Zealand has accelerated the decline in the environmental quality of the nation's lakes. The declining water quality of iconic lakes that have helped to define the nation's cultural identity is a cause for concern. The causal link between agricultural development and water quality decline raises concerns about the role that another component of the nation's identity—farming—should play in the country's future. New Zealand, like many other countries, faces some difficult trade-offs between the economic benefits of continuing to intensify land use practices versus the adverse environmental costs to the land and water environment. Reversing the decline in lake water quality requires partnerships among government, landowners, and the community. At New Zealand's iconic Lake Rotorua a partnership approach is being established that may signal a new direction for the sustainable development of natural resources.