10 May 2019
New Zealand’s 192-million-tonne erosion problem and the new research programme slowing the slippery slope and reducing its downstream effects
New Zealand is losing 192 million tonnes of soil each year due to erosion. That’s the equivalent of more than 7 million dump trucks.
According to the Ministry for the Environment’s Environment Aotearoa 2019 report, almost half (44%) of this loss is from pastoral land. This erosion has been accelerated by the loss of native vegetation but is primarily caused by significant weather events where heavy rain causes slips, slumps and stream-bank collapse that sends massive amounts of fertile soil and sediment into waterways, streams and rivers.Read more about New Zealand’s 192-million-tonne erosion problem and the new research programme slowing the slippery slope and reducing its downstream effects
