Permaculture in New Zealand

Someone pointed out that, in general, earthquakes do not damage the natural environment - it is the built environment which suffers. It is evident that some boundaries have been pushed too far - land built on which should not have been. How can we rebuild the city in a way which is more sustainable and more resilient?

My decision to leave my hometown in 2003 is suddenly looking a lot more fortunate. I will be particularly interested to see how the warehouse apartment in an old brick building that the Council kicked me out of fared. (Edward Gibbon building, corner of Tuam and Madras).

Rather than another "our thoughts are with you" post, I wanted to think about the future of the city. It has long been said that Christchurch was built in the wrong place - on the fertile swamps rather than the firmer, less productive ground inland. So, should the eastern side of the city be returned to the green belt that it was pre-1950, with all redevelopment moved to the west? (At the same time reducing the other great risk to the city, flooding by the Waimakariri River) While this was managed in the case of Cromwell, the task may simply be too great for a city of 350,000.

If I were still living there, I think I would be asking myself how I could be less dependent upon fragile infrastructure. Water supply is tricky - rainfall is too low and too uneven for roof collection to be viable, and I'm not sure if a 30,000 litre tank is the best thing to have in your backyard in an earthquake. So artesian water stays. Sewage could easily be handled on-site however. Not by smelly old septic tanks, but by the combination of wormerator, plant filter and evaporator. These systems can be totally above-ground and have near-zero treated water output. (Evaporation might be too low on those frosty winter days). Institutions with higher biomass loadings (schools, rest homes) could use effluent digesters, with the gas produced contributing to the building's energy sources. Effluent digesters can handle organic waste (e.g. kitchen waste) as well. India and China are leading the way in developing domestic-scale technology. Such remedies would require a significant change in thinking from local and central government - plus some research and standardisation to turn them into "acceptable solutions". For however much we may curse at the huge amount of regulation whenever we try to implement an "alternative" solution, it has to be admitted that the regulation largely achieved one of its goals - saving lives.

What other permaculture techniques could be implemented in the reconstruction of Christchurch? Your feedback is welcome.

Richard Grevers
New Plymouth