A Freshwater Farm Plan (FWFP) will be your tool to help you identify the environmental risks on your farm and make plans to manage and mitigate those risks. It will identify practical on-farm actions to help improve local waterways. These will depend on your farm’s location, catchment, and local environment, and will provide a more flexible alternative to resource consent and one-size-fits-all approaches.
Central Government is currently reviewing the Freshwater Farm Plan (FWFP) regulations. These regulations do not yet apply in the Tasman District and the future timing of when they apply will be determined by the review process.
The announcement made by Central Government on 3 September 2024, that the legislated rollout of FWFP will be paused, relates to the regions where the regulations already apply (Waikato, Southland, West Coast, Otago and Horizons).
This formal pause, for those currently subject to the regulations, provides some certainty around existing timeframes for farmers within those regions while the review is underway.
Pausing the rollout before the end of this year allows everyone a chance to take stock and consider changes to make the system more workable and cost-effective.
We appreciate that this brings some uncertainty. What is evident is that the FWFP regulations themselves will remain, and we wait for further direction from Central Government on the final form they will take.
There is a lot of great work happening within catchments to manage the risks to freshwater. Farmers and catchment groups are being encouraged to keep up with their efforts in anticipation of the FWFP rollout following the review.
The Soil and Landuse Team, through their Catchment Advisors, will keep you up-to-date with news and events. They are presently working hard behind the scenes collating catchment information that will help you complete your farm's FWFP, providing support, and making the information needed for the successful development of these plans available here on the Rural Hub.
If you have any questions, please contact a Catchment Advisor via email [email protected] email or phone 03 543 8400 and ask to be put through to Kat, Brigid, or Helen.
We can also keep you updated on any changes to this page that may affect you. Click on the green button below to sign up to receive updates from the Rural Hub team.
More information: Freshwater farm plans | Ministry for the Environment
Sign up for email updates
