Foreword from the Chief Executive
This Statement of Intent focuses the Ministry for the Environment, its strategic direction and work programmes on the Government's sustainability agenda. The Ministry has a coordinating role that lies at the heart of the Government's aim for New Zealand to be recognised as a world leader in sustainability.
Of course, environmental sustainability has always been implicit in the Ministry's activities. In recent years it was made more explicit in areas such as the Sustainable Water Programme of Action and our sustainable industry projects. It is now central to our vision and mission.
In 2007/08 the Government's new sustainability initiatives, along with existing linked priorities of climate change, sustainable land and water, Resource Management Act implementation, waste minimisation and environmental reporting, will dominate the Ministry's activities.
One important event in late 2007 will be the publication of the Environment New Zealand 2007 report on the state of New Zealand's environment. This report will be based on the core set of environmental indicators that have been agreed as New Zealand's measures of environmental progress.
Combined with the review of New Zealand's environmental performance by the OECD and the three reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released during 2007, it will maintain the strong public interest in local and international environmental issues that we have seen over the past 12 months.
The Ministry welcomes the rising public interest in sustainability and environmental issues. We recognise the opportunity to build on this interest by engaging people on the path to sustainability through simple achievable steps.
Hugh Logan
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
