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Fresh water
Land use and fresh water
Changes in land use can effect the quality and availability of fresh water. In particular, the intensification of agriculture and the growth of cities and towns (urban development) effect our water resources.
Regional councils are concerned that the rate of some changes are faster than the capacity of regional plans to adapt and put sustainable management frameworks in place. This creates uncertainty for the agricultural sectors, for regional councils, and for those with an interest in the environment.
The following sections describe managing land use and its effects on water:
- Agriculture and fresh water
- Urban development and fresh water
- Managing impacts on our lakes: Rotorua lake, Lake Taupo and see the lake manager’s handbooks on the ecological health guidelines.
Further information
- See the fresh water page for related reports, policies, regulations, projects, partnerships, guidelines and tools about fresh water.
- For a full list of publications relating to water refer to the water publications page.
Links to other Ministry resources
- Flood risk management
- Climate change (on the Climate Change Information website)
Last updated: 2 December 2008
