The Otago Regional Council is holding a community meeting at the Owaka Community Centre tomorrow to inform Catlins residents about its integrated catchment management programme, chaired by Cr Lloyd McCall.
Cr McCall said the council was seeking expressions of interest from locals interested in helping form a Catlins Integrated Catchment Group.
The new group would be responsible for developing a catchment action plan (Cap).
"The plan outlines long-term goals, highlights the issues, identifies possible causes and details actions for addressing them.
"This plan will be the first of an intended nine Caps across Otago."
Cr McCall said the new groups were targeting a diversity of communities, age, gender and geographical representation.
"Ideally, the group will be mainly local people or those with connections to the Catlins, with wide ranges of experience and knowledge.
"That experience could be, for example, in farming, biodiversity, community networks, mātauraka Māori, environmental management and conservation, forestry, historic heritage, land and soil management or local tourism operations."
The regional council supported the new group in developing the action plans, which would be used to "manage pressures on freshwater, terrestrial, estuarine and marine ecosystems, and to restore the values which are most important to communities."
"A Cap is a long-term plan that builds on the work that iwi, communities and local government are already doing to protect and manage their place, and serves as a focus for new actions and projects. These plans are built from the grassroots, working with mana whenua and community."
Mr McCall said the "holistic" approach to catchment management had been proven to be optimal in delivering successful environmental outcomes.
"It recognises that all the elements of an ecosystem, including the people, are connected."
The Catlins Integrated Catchment Group information session will be held tomorrow from 1pm to 3pm at the Owaka Community Centre. A webinar will be held from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.
