Land-use implications of energy scenarios for New Zealand

Abstract

The 1974 the Energy Research and Development Committee recognised the importance of energy to New Zealand’s future by setting up the Energy Research Group. The Group’s primary objective was to explore a range of energy options open to New Zealand. These were described in three energy scenarios: Continuation, Low New Zealand Pollution and Limited Growth. This project attempts to evaluate the Land-use implications of the scenarios. This evaluation takes a two-tier nature. The first part makes a general overview of the major implications of the scenarios in land-use. The second focuses on the implications of two scenarios, Limited Growth and Continuation, for the use of land on the urban fringe. The general overview isolated major land-use issues that arise from the scenarios, discusses then in brief and then suggests specific issues which warrant further investigation. No attempt is made to resolve problems highlighted in this overview. The Specific focus of the project is on the alienation of high quality land from food production to urban expansion. This is one land-use issue which arises from the scenarios. The problem is examined for one city, Palmerston North, which exhibits a range of features common to many New Zealand towns. For both scenarios two land-use patterns are developed. These land-use patterns reflect two contrasting philosophies of resource use: laissez-faire, involving few restraints to land use; and conservative seeking to minimize the loss of high quality land for food production. These patterns are developed for the year 2000. The four patterns of urban expansion dramatically emphasise the differences value decisions can have on the long-term alienation of high quality land. A range of value decisions is presented in the scenarios and resource-use philosophies. The importance of food production from high quality land, and its protection, are discussed.