Paradise under pressure: report reveals toll of intensive dairying, urban sprawl
14 Apr, 2021 10:45 PM
7 minutes to read
Areas with highly productive land like Pukekohe have become increasingly fragmented with decades of development. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Areas with highly productive land like Pukekohe have become increasingly fragmented with decades of development. Photo / Jason Oxenham
The toll of decades of intensive dairying and urban sprawl across some of New Zealand s best land has been laid bare in a just-released stocktake.
The Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ s latest joint report, Our Land 2021, checked the health of an often overlooked yet vitally important part of our natural estate: soil.
Robyn Edie/Stuff
An aerial photo of the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter with Bluff township and Bluff Hill in the backdrop.
The Ministry for the Environment says it is unclear whether Rio Tinto is under any legal obligation to remediate the site of its smelter at Tiwai Point after it closes. The smelter says it is currently conducting an extensive Closure Study to understand any environmental impacts on the Tiwai Point site and to ensure that the operation will be closed in a responsible manner. In January, New Zealand s Aluminium Smelter announced the site would stay open for four more years, after it announced in July last year it would close in August 2021.