PROJECTS

NZ DOC Living Water Economic Evaluation

The problem

The New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC) has been working with New Zealand’s largest dairy cooperative, Fonterra, to implement the Living Water program, which aims to ensure healthy waterways that coexist with dairy farming. DOC hired Castalia to evaluate the environmental and economic impacts of the Living Water program in the Waituna catchment, an ecologically and culturally significant area in the Southland region.

How we helped

We evaluated the economic costs and benefits of the Living Water program in the Waituna catchment using the standard ecosystem services framework. We then estimated the overall economic impact of the Living Water program in the catchment and provided advice on how to set up future evaluations of environmental restoration projects.

Impact

Our assessment provided the first economic insights on the impacts of the Living Water program. These insights will help DOC and Fonterra to plan effective and efficient freshwater conservation programs in future. It will also allow program managers to design interventions that allow for detailed evaluation of impacts.