The Southland Regional Forum is poised to start drafting its advice on how to meet the region's freshwater objectives, following last week’s workshop in Invercargill.

The freshwater forum is a community-based group set up in 2019 to provide recommendations to Environment Southland’s council and Te Ao Marama board members by mid-2022.

Forum chair Fiona Smith says it has spent nearly three years learning the science, policy, planning, cultural and social implications behind changes needed to achieve the community's aspirations for freshwater.

That's now being turned into tangible recommendations.

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"We've been making great progress," Smith says.

"The forum represents such a broad cross-section of the community, and we are working very cohesively and productively.

"We’re going to take some time now to write up our key ideas, refine, get some input and further refine these.

The types of issues members have been grappling with include repurposing land that is currently being used in a way that ultimately negatively impacts our waterways, looking at ways of mitigating risks, and building resilience in the face of climate change.

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They've also been discussing what incentives and regulatory frameworks might work best so landowners, and the wider Southland community, are encouraged to do everything they can to improve the waterways.

"We know there are big gaps between the state of our waterways across the region now, and where we need to be so we can live on and from the land in years to come. With our suite of recommended initiatives and other advice, we are making a commitment to our children and grandchildren, and to achieving Te Mana o Te Wai - the holistic health and well-being of the land, water and the people."

The Regional Forum’s recommendations will be used to inform a plan change to the proposed Southland Water and Land Plan, with opportunities for feedback on the draft from 2022.

More information is available about the Regional Forum at www.facebook.com/RegionalForum and https://waterandland.es.govt.nz/about/regional-forum.