Understanding the spread of riparian restoration in the Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere catchment

Abstract

Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere is New Zealand’s fifth largest lake and has significant social, environmental and cultural values. The lake catchment area has been highly modified mainly for intensive farming. There is currently increasing concern for the ecological health and integrity of the Lake Ellesmere and its catchment, due to the increase in land use for residential development and intensive farming. It has been identified that riparian restoration can be beneficial to restore values of the lake and its catchment. Presently, there are a number of groups in the catchment conducting riparian restoration on margins of lakes and rivers. Waihora Ellesmere Trust (WET) was identified as one such group. This dissertation aims to understand the spread of WET’s riparian restoration and uses the diffusion of innovations theory to achieve this aim. Diffusion of innovations theory can be used to explore how the spread of a conservation practice happens in a social system. An exploratory qualitative approach is used to achieve the objectives of this dissertation. The study found that diffusion of riparian restoration is influenced by several factors. The site selection was influenced by ownership, the location in catchment, ease of accessibility and proximity to other restoration sites. The diffusion process was influenced by the connections in an informal network observed as existing in the lower catchment. Adoption of riparian restoration depended on subjective perceptions of individuals. It was found that a riparian restoration’s relative advantage, compatibility with current practices, complexity and observability influenced the rate of adoption of restoration. It was concluded that in this study, cost was identified as the main barrier for restoration. It was evident that funding availability has influenced the diffusion of WET’s riparian restoration work.