The CAP is non-regulatory, so it doesn’t directly affect RMA policy or consent decisions.

Existing catchment groups can feed into the CAP process at several points by sharing their values, concerns, and work to date. We’re inviting expressions of interest so people involved in these groups can take part, bring their experience in, and share CAP outcomes back with their groups. This has worked well in other areas.

Catchment Action Plans are part of a wider approach often called ecosystem-based or landscape-scale management. These approaches are used around the world and have become more common over the past few decades as a way to manage complex environmental issues together. In Otago, two CAPs have already been completed, and another is underway.

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Yes. We’re looking for 15–20 community representatives to take part through an expression of interest process. The aim is to include a wide range of local perspectives and areas of knowledge.

Not always, and in this case it doesn’t. We’ve already had some early conversations with members of the East Otago Catchment Group and talked through ways they can be involved if they have the capacity to do so.

The CAP helps identify actions and priorities. These can then support future funding bids or decisions, but it doesn’t guarantee funding.

Feedback from the completed CAPs has generally been positive, especially around the value of working together and building a shared understanding. We review each workshop as we go and have also had the programme independently reviewed. Our focus is on learning and improving as we go.

Yes. The process uses tools like situation diagrams to understand issues and builds simple logic models (or results chains) to show how actions are expected to lead to outcomes.

A paper on the large-scale environment fund is going to Council at the end of April. Councillors will make decisions about the fund at that meeting.