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A strong drive by iwi is being credited for cutting the amount of nitrogen leaking Lake Taupo by 170 tonnes a year.
Environment Minister Nick Smith says a 10-year initiative to cut nitrogen by 20 percent met its target three-years early thanks to the efforts of the Lake Taupo Protection Trust, which includes the government, Taupo District Council, Environment Waikato and Ngati Tuwharetoa.
He says the project is the first of its kind in New Zealand and has received international acknowledgement from the OECD as a unique and innovative environmental policy that provides a model for other parts of the world.
The trust was set up with a $81 million fund it used to buy land and get private landowners to change land use.
Over that period Ngati Tuwharetoa interests around the lake have also been making changes, including switching some pastoral farming to forestry.
This will include a large part of the block recently bought from Corrections as part of a deferred treaty settlement.
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