“Our activities on land have compromised both the quality and quantity of our soils through deforestation, urban sprawl and intensification, and agricultural intensification,” the report said.
“Climate change is adding to these pressures, exacerbating flooding, landslides and erosion.”
It pointed out how vital soil was for New Zealand’s agricultural and horticultural economy which was worth $55.3 billion in the year to June 2023.
“For many Māori, soil is also of great cultural significance, fundamental to māra kai and viewed as a living entity with deep connections to whakapapa, ancestral lineage.”
The report said there was a 54 per cent increase in highly productive land being used for urban or residential purposes between 2022 and 2019.
The snapshot pointed out that reducing the land available for horticulture could have consequences for food prices.
“The reduced availability of highly productive land in the Auckland and Waikato District could contribute, alongside other factors, to an increase in fruit and vegetable prices of up to 58 per cent across the country by 2043.”
Ministry for the Environment deputy secretary Natasha Lewis said ecosystems, such as soil, indigenous forests, wetlands, flood plains, and dunes were the foundation natural assets and infrastructure that underpinned our economy.
“Soil is crucially important because it is the foundation for other natural infrastructure. It also plays a vital role in our economy, soil is a strategic asset,” she said.
“A lot of our GDP is in the top 15cm of the ground we walk on.”
Lewis said the ways we use land were placing our natural infrastructure under pressure.
“Accounting for the full range of benefits that nature provides will help us to develop enduring solutions for the way we manage land,” she said.
- RNZ
