Indicators of regional and national economies

All actions in this strategy should contribute to improved quality of life and economic prosperity in Canterbury. This set of goals measures the combined effects of many of the other target areas. Although some of these goals, such as regional GDP, are influenced by initiatives outside this strategy, it is important to evaluate how implementation programmes contribute to economic wealth.

Under the Canterbury Water Management Strategy (CWMS), goals were set to help make a difference to our environment and how natural resources are managed. Environment Canterbury reports on progress on behalf of CWMS partners.

Here's how things are progressing against 2020 goals. View information on:

Added-value from water

2020 goal: Increased production through the direct application of water to agriculture contributes an additional $0.4 billion per annum value-added to the Canterbury economy.

Has the goal been met?

Met

Partially met

Not met

We do not have sufficient information to assess whether this goal has been met. According to a report by the Ministry for the Environment, irrigated land area in Canterbury was 546,205 ha in 2020, an 8% increase on the 2017 estimate.

Direct measures of the value-added impact on the regional economy are not available. However, 2012 study estimated that if the area of irrigated land in Canterbury increased to 750,000 ha, this would add a value of $1.1 billion. There has been no update on this report.

Highlights to date

A 2014 NZ Institute of Economic Research report estimated that nationally, on-farm irrigation contributes $2.17 billion to GDP per year.
Central Plains Water currently supplies irrigation to approximately 45,000 ha and has the consented potential to deliver to 63,000 ha of land between Rakaia and Waimakariri Rivers. Once the scheme is fully operational, annual direct and indirect regional agricultural output is expected to increase by $264 million per annum.

Looking forward to 2025

IrrigationNZ will continue to progress strategic actions to irrigation.

Externalities and opportunity costs

2020 goal: Measures in place to assess the economic wealth benefits of freshwater biodiversity (and other ecosystem services) and recreational use of water.