A reduction of 320 tonne of nutrients needs to be made by 2032, to protect Lake Rotorua for future generations.
Nutrients, like nitrogen and phosphorus, aid the growth of blue-green algae and cause the water quality to decline.
These nutrients leach into the lake from land through things like septic tanks, wastewater and farming.
Rotorua Te Arawa Lakes Programme partner Bay of Plenty Regional Council spokesperson Councillor Arapeta Tahana said to make a measurable difference for Lake Rotorua, land uses around the catchment need to change.
"We know that nutrients are leaching into our beautiful lakes from different land uses like old septic tanks and farming. To preserve it for the future, we have to make changes now."
Councillor Tahana said Bay of Plenty Regional Council was working with the local community to help support them in making effective land use changes that would not just benefit Lake Rotorua but benefit the community too.
"We have spent the last few years researching and understanding different land uses from traditional farming like dairy sheep or goats to orchards or even eco-tourism where landowners use their land for farm stays.
"This is a very exciting time for Rotorua and there is real potential to benefit from these alternative land uses. You don't have to own land to make changes either, everybody can play their part in protecting our lakes.
"Simple things like planting natives, upgrading old septic tanks, fencing animals off from waterways and picking up rubbish from our lakes and streams all help too," he said.
The Rotorua Te Arawa Lakes Programme is working with the local community to achieve the 320 tonne reduction goal for Lake Rotorua as well as other lakes around the district.
Lake Rotorua's water quality is currently stable but only because of alum dosing into two streams.
Aluminium sulphate is deposited into two streams which enter Lake Rotorua; the Utuhina Stream and the Puarenga Stream. The continued low dose of alum binds phosphorus so that algae cannot use it to grow. But the dosing is not a sustainable long-term measure.
The Rotorua Te Arawa Lakes Programme has developed an integrated framework to stop nutrient losses from land use into Lake Rotorua, with the aim of eventually removing the need for alum dosing to maintain water quality.
The framework outlines different methods for achieving the overall 320 tonne nutrient reduction target including, 140 tonnes through regulated farming activity, 100 tonnes from a scheme which buys nitrogen off landowners, 50 tonnes from engineering solutions and the rest from a scheme which aims to reduce as much gorse as possible throughout the catchment.