Located two hours north of Christchurch on New Zealand’s south island, Kaikoura District Council has a population of just 3,500 people. The coastal township, with its magnificent mountain backdrop, attracts 1.6 million visitors each year. Visitor numbers are growing at 14 per cent annually. Abundant marine life, including whales, seals and dolphins, is the major drawcard for visitors within New Zealand and overseas.
The Kaikoura Canyon, an ocean trench 1,200 metres deep, is located just half a kilometre off shore. This is the reason why the area has such prolific marine life, including whales in the area, all year round.
Working closely with its community, Council has proved that embarking on a green journey can reap enormous economic and environmental benefits. Around one third of local employment is in tourism, and it was the visitors, particularly from northern Europe, who first started asking where were the recycle bins. So in 1998 Council embarked on a zero waste to landfill strategy.
It has currently achieved a 62 per division rate. Kaikoura also signed up to Local Agenda 21 in November 2000. To reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, Kaikoura needs to plant two million trees to become carbon neutral.
A program encouraging visitors to purchase and plant native trees is not only assisting this endeavour, but providing a reason for visitors and their families to return on a regular basis to see how their tree is progressing.
Kaikoura is also a Green Globe 21 pilot, along with Redland and Douglas Shires in Queensland. Green Globe is a management system that uses benchmarking to ensure there is protection of the environment alongside economic development. It has ten compulsory measurement indicators, plus two optional indicators nominated by the participating council.
“Interaction between Council, local businesses and the community to turn perception into reality has seen Kaikoura become the ecotourism capital of New Zealand,” said Ian Challenger, Council’s Environmental Development Officer. “This in turn is giving us a competitive edge.”
Kaikoura District Council was one of six case studies presented at the recent International Best Practices Symposium hosted by Local Government Managers Australia in Melbourne on 21–22 May 2004.
For further information on Kaikoura’s ‘Green for Growth’ journey contact Ian Challenger, Environmental Development Officer, email ian.challenger@kaikoura.govt.nz
