The Hill Country Erosion Programme helps landowners manage and protect erosion-prone hill country land with practical tools like planting guides and best practice advice.

This programme is a partnership between MPI/Te Uru Rākau-NZ Forest Service, Otago Regional Council and landowners, encouraging sustainable management practices to protect vulnerable hill country. 

The three-year project fits alongside other work being carried out across Otago, particularly catchment programmes, the draft Strategic Climate Action Plan and Nature-based Solutions study.

The project aims to improve council’s engagement with mana whenua and landowners, increase education and awareness about hill country erosion and ways to address this, and to identify and mitigate hill slope erosion in priority areas.

• We’re collating and analysing existing data and mapping to determine where our focus should be
• We have developed a strategic plan to guide our actions through the three years of project funding (up until June 2027).  Mana whenua advice will continue to inform our planning for how and where we work on this project
• Tools are being developed to assist landowners in making land use decisions, including a planting guide for erosion control
• Site visits are underway to assess current landowner led erosion control strategies and concerns
• Pilot project sites will be identified to trial and showcase erosion control tools and techniques

We are wanting to learn from, and support landowners who are managing their land in ways that are effectively addressing and controlling   hill country erosion.  If you are interested in being part of our pilot project sites, please get in touch.  

There is some funding to support landowner initiatives, such as stock exclusion fencing and planting.  We invite landowners who wish to take part to register their interest, by emailing alison.turner@orc.govt.nz.