Curran_Cournane_Understanding tradeoffs between high class land and development, and future pressures on Auckland’s soil resources
- 1. Understanding tradeoffs between high class land and development; recent and future pressures on Auckland’s soil resources Beyond the Edge (La Trobe University Melbourne) Fiona Curran Cournane, Melanie Vaughan, Ali Memon and Craig Fredrickson Research Investigations and Monitoring Unit
- 2. Introduction • Increasing global population • Auckland largest city in NZ • Population forecast to increase from 1.5-2.5m by 2040 • Equates to 400,000 dwellings • Competition of high class land for rural vs urban vs peri-urban use in NZ • Soil natural capital- ecosystem services • High class land = Land use capability classes 1-3
- 3. Land Use Capability (LUC) Classification 1 Arable cropping suitability Pastoral grazing suitability Production forestry suitability High High General suitability High Specific reference in Unitary Plan Value for primary production Elite land High Multiple use land Prime land Pastoral or forestry land 2 Moderate to low versatility High to moderate 3 4 Low 5 6 Unsuitable 7 Low Low 8 Unsuitable Unsuitable Moderate to low Conservation land Low Decreasing versatility of use Increasing limitations to use LUC Class
- 4. Objectives To robustly quantify the amount of high class land that has been lost to urban development and what is likely to occur using both long term trend and future growth records
- 5. High class land = Land Use Capability (LUC) Classes 1-3 LUC 1 (<1%) LUC 2 (12%) LUC 3 (15%)
- 6. What we had • 28% (124,843 hectares) of the Auckland total land area is classified as elite and prime agricultural land What we lost......
- 7. Urban extension 7,172 ha (5.7%) high class land lost to urban extension Disproportionate encroachment onto high class land
- 8. Greenfields equate to 7,842ha (6.3%) loss of high class land Building consents (52,980) granted = 1.1% (1,395ha) loss of high class land (415ha outside RUB)
- 9. Future growth pressures on high class land
- 10. Why we care Powerhouse in terms of outdoor vegetable production Because... • Pukekohe has some of NZ’s best soils • Unique, effectively frost free climate • Availability of irrigation water • Multitude of freight options • Supply of labour
- 11. Lest we forget.... • Supporting • Cultural • Regulatory..... ...ecosystem services soil natural capital support
- 12. Conclusions • Urbanisation disproportionally encroaches onto elite and prime land and future growth indicates that these tradeoffs will continue • Real need to analyse the economic benefits and long term sustainability of future development and protection of our valuable soil resources • True cost of lost ES needs to be evaluated to ensure these values are acknowledged by decision makers