Freshwater management in Aotearoa-New Zealand: is trading a viable option for water quantity allocation?

ABSTRACT Water trading has been proposed as an effective mechanism for delivering economic benefits within environmental limits. It represents one possibility for applying a dynamic allocation framework within which environmental river flows can be monitored and improved to support ecological, cultural, aesthetical and recreational values. Based on international experience, requirements for the successful implementation of water trading are assessed in the Aotearoa-New Zealand context. It is concluded that, if the environment is recognised as a water user, water trading has potential to promote sustainable water use but is associated with significant set-up and ongoing costs. A co-governance policy framework for water trading has not been agreed by iwi/hapū and the Crown based on Te Tiriti o Waitangi (1840). The institutional capacity required for development and implementation of trading is currently lacking, and the roles that government agencies and iwi/hapū would play are unclear. Market operational requirements relating to collection, collation and communication of hydrological data are only partially in place. Finally, New Zealand’s flashy hydrology is not conducive to seasonal water trading and smaller catchments may contain insufficient users to constitute a functioning market. Water trading should therefore not be viewed as an easily implementable solution for improved freshwater management.