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Environment New Zealand 2007 questions and answers - About the report

Environment New Zealand 2007 publications

What is Environment New Zealand 2007?

  • Environment New Zealand 2007 is the Ministry for the Environment’s latest national report on the state of New Zealand’s environment.
  • It takes the pulse of the physical well-being of New Zealand’s land, water, air, plants and animals.
  • Measures the impact of transport, energy, waste, and our consumption on the environment.
  • Identifies trends and selected pressures on our natural resources.

What does it do?

  • It builds on the earlier 1997 State of the Environment report.
  • It introduces benchmark environmental indicators as well as 80 specific measures, to capture hard data which will be used to build up a clear picture of trends and pressures over time.
  • It provides a ‘one stop shop’ of accessible, relevant environmental information which can be used as a basis for decision-making.
  • It meets international best practice for national state of the environment reporting.
  • It makes use of award-winning maps to present complex information in an easily accessible way.

What is the purpose of the report?

  • The report shows the impact of the activities and choices made every day by every one of us – as decision-makers, communities and individuals.
  • The information provides a baseline against which we can track future changes to the environment.
  • It provides constructive information which will be used to inform and prioritise decision-making by central and local government, as well as business, iwi and in the community.
  • The report will be used to identify whether environmental policies and programmes need strengthening or updating. The Ministry for the Environment will lead this process over the course of the year, working alongside a number of other government departments.
  • It provides a basis for the Ministry for the Environment to engage with key sectors and interest groups to work together to develop and agree on a sustainable way forward.

Why is this report important?

  • It demonstrates the importance of sustainably managing our natural resources.
  • It highlights the state of, and pressures on our environment today.
  • The information provides a baseline against which we can track future changes to the environment.
  • It demonstrates the importance of our clean green reputation to our international markets and our present and future well-being: eg, 17 per cent of our GDP comes from the top 15cm of our topsoil.
  • It will be used to help inform and prioritise decision-making by central and local government, as well as business, iwi and in the community.
  • It provides a basis for the Ministry for the Environment to engage with key sectors and interest groups to work together to develop and agree on a sustainable way forward.
  • The report will be used to identify whether environmental policies and programmes need strengthening or updating. The Ministry for the Environment will lead this process over the course of the year, working alongside a number of other government departments.

What does the report tell us about New Zealand’s environment?

  • The report confirms we have an enviable environment, compared to many countries internationally. But like other developed countries, New Zealand is facing a number of environmental pressures, and some trends are going in the wrong direction. 
  • Our everyday activities and choices – both past and present - have put pressures on our soil, water and air and other natural resources;
  • It highlights the need to protect and reinforce New Zealand’s environmental standing.
  • Some pressures appear to be reducing (eg, waste disposed of to landfill) or are being avoided (eg because of increased rates of recycling, better pest management and an increase in areas of protected land).
  • Some aspects of the environment appear to be getting worse over time (eg, the nutrient quality of freshwaters, soil quality under some land uses, the distribution of some native species), or have been over-exploited (eg, some fish stocks).
  • Some aspects appear to be improving (eg, air quality in managed airsheds, stratospheric ozone levels, organic pollution and some other types of pollution in our freshwaters, hill country erosion in some areas, and recovery of some endangered species).

What are the pressures that the report talks about? Why have they occurred?

  • New Zealand’s economic profile has put pressures on our environment, both today and in the past. As a country reliant on primary production from the land and sea for our economic and social well-being, we face particular environmental pressures and legacies;
  • At the same time we have avoided those pressures and legacies common in heavily industrialised countries, such as high levels of dioxins and other industrial pollutants;
  • Intensification of land use – whether in rural or urban areas – is having a significant impact on our environment;
  • Increasing urban expansion, rural subdivision and infill housing leads to higher levels of hard surfacing, increased stormwater runoff and land compaction. It also increases demands on infrastructure such as water, energy, telecommunications, sewerage, roading and other transport infrastructure.

How has the information been compiled?

  • The information has been collected from government departments, local and regional councils, non-government organisations and Crown Research Institutes up until 30 July 2007.
  • The report capitalises on the significant improvements in environmental reporting tools since an earlier report state of the environment report in 1997.
  • The report provides a baseline to monitor changes to the environment. It introduces benchmark environmental indicators (measures of environmental health) as well as 80 specific variables, to capture hard data which will be used to build up a clear picture of trends and pressures over time.
    For example, water quality is an environmental indicator. To assess water quality, a number of variables (such as visual clarity, sedimentation and levels of nitrates and phosphates) are measured.
  • State-of-the-art mapping technology has been used to present complex information in new ways. The maps in the report have won a national mapping award.
  • Each chapter uses the best data available to identify trends in our environment. However, the data of the 2007 data may not neatly span the decade between 1997 and 2007.

Who is it for?

  • We are all guardians of the environment so the report is for every New Zealander including central and local government, key sectors and interest groups, businesses, iwi, communities and families.
  • It provides constructive information which will be used to inform and prioritise decision-making by central and local government, as well as business, iwi and in the community.

Who has been involved in the development of the report?

  • A steering group of 12 core government agencies, regional government and the QE II National Trust, was established to provide data and to peer review the content.
  • The report has also been extensively peer reviewed by central and local government agencies as well as technical experts. 
  • Other key stakeholders have also been regularly briefed on the project.

When will the next report be released?

  • The Ministry for the Environment has a Cabinet mandate to produce regular national reports on the environment under the Ministry’s Environmental Reporting Framework.
  • The next state of the environment report will be released in five years time (2012). In the meantime, the Ministry will continue its regular reporting on the environment, including annual reporting on environmental indicators.

What other reports are available?

  • The Ministry for the Environment will continue to publish regular reports including:
    • issues-based reports eg, on water, greenhouse gas emissions etc. which update data on a regular basis
    • 'snapshot' reports on indicator information.

Where can I get a copy of the report?

Copies of the report and summary are available: