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Oceans

At 4.4 million square kilometres, New Zealand administers the sixth largest marine environment in the world. This area is significantly larger than New Zealand’s land area. It is used for transportation, fisheries, recreation and tourism. It is important for its cultural and spiritual significance, for New Zealand’s economic activities and for biological diversity.

Many activities in New Zealand’s marine environment are regulated by existing laws. Current laws, however, do not provide for proper assessment of the environmental effects of activities in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) such as seabed mining, or carbon capture and storage. Lack of clarity about the regulatory environment creates uncertainty for investment in the development of EEZ resources.

There are currently low levels of environmental pressure from unregulated or partially regulated activities in New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone. However, the number of activities is increasing as new technologies develop and will continue to increase in the future. In October 2006, the regulatory gap in the EEZ was identified as the priority issue for oceans policy development.

What are we seeking to achieve?

Longer term outcome

  • A healthy marine environment.

What will we do to achieve this?

The focus for achieving the longer term outcome A healthy marine environment is to provide appropriate statutory frameworks. Subject to Cabinet decisions, this will be achieved mainly by introducing into the House of Representatives an EEZ Environmental Effects Bill and supporting the Bill through all stages of consideration.

A Regulatory Impact Statement confirmed the proposed Bill as the preferred option for managing environmental effects in the EEZ. However, further analysis of the likely costs and benefits of the proposed legislation is necessary as part of the preparation of the regulations. Although it is likely that the Bill will be effective in filling the gaps in effects management, on its own it will not solve all remaining marine management issues in the EEZ.

The purpose of the proposed legislation is to provide for uses of the EEZ’s natural and physical resources, and to regulate the effects of those uses in order to protect the environment and ensure that uses (or the effects of those uses, in the case of non-renewable resources) are environmentally sustainable. The legislation proposes new controls for currently unregulated environmental effects (such as disturbance of the sea floor through mining activities) and dealing with conflict between activities (such as effects of a petroleum platform on existing fishing activities).

Subject to the Bill being passed into law, over the next three years, the new EEZ environmental effects law will need to be implemented. This would include:

  • communicating obligations under the new law to interested parties and responding to public enquiries

  • supporting the Minister for the Environment in the exercise of new statutory functions, powers and obligations set out under the law, eg,. preparing priority policies, rules or regulations against which proposed activities would be assessed (and then approved or declined as appropriate)

  • working with other agencies to maximise coordination and integration of the EEZ legislation with other legislation and government functions in New Zealand’s marine area

  • monitoring the effectiveness of the new law and the functions of the proposed consent authority as they relate to the law.

To achieve the longer term outcome of A healthy marine environment, the Ministry for the Environment needs to work with other agencies responsible for managing New Zealand's marine environment such as the Department of Conservation; the Ministries of Fisheries, Transport, Justice, and Economic Development; Te Puni Kokiri; Maritime New Zealand; and regional councils to promote better integrated and coordinated policy and legislation.

How will we demonstrate success?

The success of the legislation can be measured against some of its proposed functions, including:

  • compliance with the legislation in a cost effective and timely manner that does not discourage environmentally sustainable activities in the EEZ

  • the development and implementation of a consenting regime that produces timely and quality decisions

  • the consistency of activities managed under the legislation with the objectives set out in it.

The Ministry may also use other evaluation techniques to begin to answer this question, for example by undertaking a survey of key stakeholders.

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