In a nutshell, Section 36 charges are consent holders’ contribution (under Section 36[1] of the Resource Management Act 1991) to funding two main areas. The first is the monitoring of consents across the region to ensure those who have consents are using them as they should be. The second is contributing a 30 percent share to the science and research of the region’s water resources. Our region uses water for farming, industry, recreation and day to day life. The use of this precious resource underpins our region’s towns and economy, however, we must use it in a way that is sustainable and maintains our natural