Application of an ecosystem accounting framework for freshwater ecosystem services in the Waikato Region.

Report: TR 2024/23

Authors: Richard T. Yao and David J. Palmer (Scion - New Zealand Forest Research Institute Ltd)

The Waikato Regional Council (WRC) is undertaking a long-term project to assess ecosystem services (ES) from freshwater resources in the Waikato Region. This project contributes to the WRC Regional Policy Statement by ensuring that the range of ES associated with natural resources is recognised, maintained, and enhanced to contribute to human wellbeing in the region.

The first two phases of this project involved a desktop assessment of selected freshwater bodies (rivers, streams, lakes, wetlands, and terrestrial geothermal areas) in the Waikato and Waihou river systems to identify, quantify, and value (where possible) the freshwater ES. The third phase assessed 57 ES provided by the rivers and streams in the region’s Ohinemuri catchment. Phase four developed an ecosystem accounting framework and created two pilot ecosystem accounts for the Waikato River Catchment, accounting for approximately 34% of the Waikato region.

To our knowledge, these ecosystem accounts are the first freshwater ecosystem accounts in New Zealand at a catchment level. This phase five project has further developed and applied the phase four framework to create ecosystem accounts for key freshwater ecosystem services supplied by freshwater resources throughout the region.