Fears wet weather will increase spread of kauri dieback in Waitākere Ranges, as hundreds ignore rāhui

Friday, 5 January 2018

Hundreds of visitors continue to walk through the Waitākere Ranges, despite the issuing of a rāhui by local iwi.

Heavy rainfall from the storm lashing the country will create the perfect conditions for kauri dieback to spread in the Waitākere Ranges, an Auckland iwi says.

Te Kawerau a Maki performed a rāhui ceremony in early December to help stop the spread of kauri dieback in the West Auckland rainforest.

A rāhui is a form of tapu restricting access to an area.

West Auckland iwi te Kawerau a Maki is concerned rain will cause the perfect conditions for the spread of dieback in the Waitākere Ranges.

But with hundreds of visitors still visiting the 16,000 hectare forest, iwi spokesman Edward Ashby said the wet conditions were perfect for spreading the killer disease.

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Auckland Council is confident its ambassador programme is helping the public understand the importance of cleaning footwear before and after entering the forest.

'We know that dieback moves easier when it's muddy.'

Tree Council spokeswoman Mels Barton said most of the tracks in the Waitākere Ranges were made from clay: 'When the surface gets wet it gets sticky and muddy, the mud will stick to shoes and easily transported to other trees.'

The type of dieback in the ranges created a water-borne spore, which moves through water film on the track surface and can move downhill, she said.

'If you have infected trees on the top of a ridge the spore can move downhill and infect other trees on the way.'

She said the ranges were a rainforest which never completely dried out.

'Some of those tracks will always be muddy but this rain will make things a lot worse.'

Auckland Council voted against full closure of the ranges to stop kauri dieback, opting to instead close high- to medium-risk walking tracks and fight the disease through increased investment.

However, the council said it agreed with the rāhui in principle and encouraged people to visit walking tracks in other areas of Auckland.

Regional parks manager Rachel Kelleher said the forecast for the next few days was for the weather to improve and she did not think the tracks would get too muddy.

'We tend to see a significant decrease in visitors to our parks during bad weather, making mud, and consequently the disease spreading, less likely.'

Kelleher said the ambassador programme the council had running in the ranges had people stationed at high risk sites around the region.

'They engage with visitors on ways they can help in stopping kauri dieback disease.'

Ashby said there was a lot of confusion about how the rāhui works, including from within the council.

'At a recent meeting I had a council staff member ask if we could turn off the rāhui during summer because it's dry and back on during winter.'

Ashby said adding to the confusion were conflicting messages: the council's track closures, and the rāhui which covered the entire forest.

'There are some people who are willfully breaking the rāhui because they think it's a Māori thing but they will have to wear the consequences of that.'

Iwi were concerned some people were putting their enjoyment before the environment, he said.

Kelleher said the rāhui and ambassadors helped raise the profile of the issue, especially the importance of cleaning footwear and staying off closed tracks.

'It has also been great to see locals out doing their part to spread the message, and respecting the rāhui.'