The Government's proposal to bring in some elected councillors on the Canterbury Regional Council will leave the council heavily weighted in favour of those representing rural views, an environmental policy expert says.
The government in 2010 replaced the councillors with appointed commissioners after they failed to bring in a water management plan.
It is now proposing a mix of seven elected members and six appointed commissioners.
Lincoln University senior lecturer Ann Brower said the elected members would be spread across four electorates, three covering rural areas and only one for the city of Christchurch.
"There's an urban rural split in vision for what the world should look like.
"So that split, I'm sure, will play out in election results, which means urban views on the greater ECan council, they will be very marginalised."
Ms Brower said traditionally, urban voters had a greater interest in conservation.