Archived publication

This publication is no longer current or has been superseded.

How we will measure progress

Our regular reporting is focused on:

  • the health of New Zealand's natural environment
  • implementation and effectiveness of policy
  • the delivery of our work programmes
  • the Ministry's environmental performance.

Reporting and review framework

Credible environmental information is necessary to make good decisions and measure progress in maintaining a healthy environment. By using environmental data and information provided by councils, central government agencies, and the research and scientific community, we can create a national environmental picture. We have developed a reporting framework that sets out how we plan to monitor and report on New Zealand's environment.

The framework allows us to:

  • use monitoring data principally relating to the core set of indicators to report on the state and trends in New Zealand's environment
  • track whether policies are being implemented
  • measure environmental outcomes against policy intent: ie, has the policy delivered what it is supposed to.

By applying this framework across the Ministry's main work areas over time, we will be able to report on both the state of the environment and the implementation and effectiveness of policy. We will implement the national environmental reporting framework by producing a series of annual, biennial and occasional reports. The programme of reporting is being developed.

The health of our environment

As the Government's key adviser on the New Zealand environment and environmental sustainability, the Ministry for the Environment has a significant reporting role that extends well beyond our own activities. We intend to report regularly on the state of our environment in a number of ways, using a core set of national environmental indicators that have been developed and selected over the past 10 years.

These indicators allow us to systematically report on the health of New Zealand's air, water, land, and biodiversity, as well as pressures on our environment such as waste and energy use.

In 2007/08 we plan to publish a national state of the environment report, Environment New Zealand 2007 that will explain environmental trends using the core set of national environmental indicators. This will update the information published in The State of New Zealand's Environment 1997.

Following that, each year we will update and publish monitoring data for the core set of national environmental indicators (see chart below). From time to time we will also prepare "snapshot" reports to outline the trends in a particular topic area, such as water. This information will be available on the Ministry's website at www.mfe.govt.nz

The chart below shows the core set of national environmental indicators that help us to report on the state of New Zealand's environment. Because of the Ministry's role in leading and reporting on environmental sustainability, not all of these indicators link to a Ministry work programme - some of the indicators link with the responsibilities of other government agencies.

While these indicators contribute to a picture of environmental sustainability, further work is needed to expand and supplement the indicators so that we can report on environmental sustainability and the connections to economic, social and cultural well-being.

Core set of national environmental indicators for reporting on the state of New Zealand's environment

  • Ecological Footprint for New Zealand and its regions
    A sustainability indicator that shows the amount of land required to sustain the lifestyle choices of a given population.
  • Trends in emissions and removals of greenhouse gases
    Shows how New Zealand is meeting its commitments under the United Nations Framework on Climate Change and Kyoto Protocol relating to greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Changes in stratospheric ozone levels over New Zealand
    Shows the amount and rate of ozone depletion/recovery.
  • Changes in air quality in managed air sheds
    Shows where changes in air quality may affect human health.
  • Trends in national water quality
    Shows where changes in water quality may affect ecological and human health.
  • Changes in the proportion of water allocated for areas with allocation limits
    Shows changes in water availability and where and how much of that water is allocated through resource and other consents.
  • Changes/trends in land cover and land use
    Shows how land cover and land use is changing.
  • Land cover and land use compared to land use capability
    Shows changes in areas susceptible to hill country erosion and selected areas at risk from unsustainable land use.
  • Changes in distribution of selected native plants and animals
    Shows whether selected threatened or iconic indigenous species, such as kiwi, are present or absent in any given area.
  • Extent of indigenous vegetation and legally protected areas by Land Environment New Zealand classification
    Shows what proportion of environments are covered by indigenous vegetation and what proportion are protected.
  • Extent of marine areas with some level of legal protection by Marine Environment Classification
    Shows what proportion of Marine Environment Classification environments within the Exclusive Economic Zone are protected.
  • Proportion of seabed bottom trawled and annual bottom trawling effort over time
    Shows what proportion of the 16 demersal fish classes within the EEZ have been affected by bottom trawling since good records began. Also shows trends in annual bottom trawling over time.
  • Proportion of removals, by biomass of landings, of fish stocks that have been quantitatively assessed and status of commercially managed fish stocks under the Quota Management System compared to agreed target biomass
    Shows trends in status of fish stocks that are being managed within an agreed level of catch.
  • Trends in volume and composition of solid waste to landfill
    Shows waste stream patterns reflecting New Zealand's consumption and resource use.
  • Of the total number of confirmed contaminated sites, the proportion of sites:
    • confirmed remediated
    • managed

    Shows how New Zealand is identifying and remediating contaminated land.

  • Trends in total vehicle kilometres travelled by vehicle type
    Shows the types of vehicles New Zealanders drive and the distances travelled.
  • Trends in energy demand, use and supply
    Shows the type of energy New Zealanders use and for what purpose.
  • Trends in real household consumption expenditure
    Shows consumption patterns (as expressed in money spent) for specific goods and service areas.

Progress towards our outcomes

We recognise that making a direct link between policy developed by the Ministry and improvement in the health of our natural environment is not always easy. For example, many factors affect the quality of water in our rivers and lakes and people's willingness to take action to improve it. Policy developed will be implemented over a number of years and the outcome, in terms of improved water quality, may not be measurable for 20 or 50 years.

So in the short-term we may be able to measure progress towards our outcomes only by understanding what action has been taken in response to the policy. We are continuing to develop and implement measures that evaluate policy efficiency and effectiveness and our progress towards the desired outcomes.

During 2007/08 we will continue to develop the framework of contributing outcomes that support our four main outcomes and the measures we will use to demonstrate the progress. The measures already in place are outlined in the table below.

Desired outcome

How we will measure progress

New Zealand's air, water, land and urban communities are healthy
  • Annual monitoring of core national environmental indicators
  • Number of regions on track to meet the national environmental standard for fine particles (PM10) by 2013
  • Progress towards the targets of the Dairying and Clean Streams Accord for excluding dairy cattle from streams, rivers, lakes and wetlands, and managing farm dairy effluent and nutrients (five targets for 2007 and two for 2012). See annual reports on our website.

New Zealand is able to capitalise on its natural environmental advantages to improve social and economic well-being

This is a new outcome. Measures of progress are being developed, including how we will monitor progress with the new sustainability initiatives.

New Zealand's natural resources are managed effectively and New Zealanders are encouraged to use resources sustainably
  • Percentage of resource consents processed by councils within statutory time limits (73% in 2005/06).
  • Number of Resource Management Act decision makers accredited under the Making Good Decisions programme (currently 900).
  • Progress towards the targets of the New Zealand Waste Strategy as set out in the Strategy (March 2002). These targets cover waste minimisation (six targets), organic waste (five targets), special waste (one target), construction and demolition waste (two targets), hazardous waste (three targets), contaminated sites (three targets), organochlorines (two targets), trade wastes (two targets), and waste disposal (five targets). A review of targets was carried out in 2004 and 2006 - see reports on our website.
  • Progress towards the New Zealand Packaging Accord's 2008 national recycling targets for recovery of packaging materials (by weight as a percentage of consumption). These targets are for aluminium (65%), glass (55%), paper (70%), steel (43%) and plastic (23%). See annual report links on our website.
  • Progress by core government departments with their Govt3 action plans to reduce or recycle waste, improve energy efficiency in buildings and transport, and reduce paper use.
  • Measures are being developed to monitor progress with the new sustainability initiatives

Risks to people, the economy and the environment from pollution, contamination and other environmental hazards are minimised
  • Progress towards the New Zealand Waste Strategy targets for hazardous waste (three targets), contaminated sites (three targets) and organochlorines (two targets).
  • Priority contaminated sites as identified by regional councils that are confirmed remediated or being managed.
  • New Zealand greenhouse gas emissions from energy, industrial processes, solvents and other products, agriculture, land use change and forestry, and waste.
  • Quantity of unwanted agrichemicals collected in conjunction with regional councils.

Reporting on what we have done

In addition to the reporting and review framework outlined above, we will monitor and report on the delivery of the outputs that we have agreed with our Ministers. These reports will be based on the output measures shown on pages 51 to 63. Progress with our annual work programme will be reported regularly to our Ministers and will be reported to Parliament in our annual report.

Reporting on our environmental performance

The Ministry monitors and reports on its environmental performance each year in our annual report to Parliament. In this report we look at our waste, energy, business travel, carbon footprint, and materials used.

The Ministry is one of six government departments that are taking the lead on carbon neutrality in the public sector. We will have a plan in place by early 2008 to further reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and to offset unavoidable emissions.

[ | ]