3 First Things First – What is Environmental Reporting and Who Does it?

Environmental reporting draws together information and data that lets us know:

the current state of the environment
environmental trends – are things getting better, or worse, or staying the same
what human activities are having an impact on the environment – these are also known as ‘pressures’ on the environment.

Why environmental information is important

People who make decisions about managing natural resources, or who develop environmental policy, depend on reliable evidence-based information on the state of the environment. Environmental reporting provides this.

Environmental reporting also helps us assess whether policies and environmental management have been effective, and whether we need to develop new ways to deal with emerging environmental issues. It can also help decision-makers identify where more management, policy and/or funding is needed.

As well as being fundamental to the Ministry’s own policy work, the national environmental reporting programme is vital for other agencies with responsibilities for natural resource management. Increasingly, the programme serves cross-governmental work to achieve environmental sustainability.

National-scale reporting is also used to report New Zealand’s environmental performance on the international stage – for example, to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Who does environmental reporting in New Zealand

In New Zealand, environmental reporting is carried out at the national, regional and local levels.

National reporting – Ministry for the Environment

In 2006, when the Ministry formally resumed responsibility for national-scale environmental reporting, its first tasks were to:

confirm a core set of 22 national environmental indicators (described in Appendix 1)
produce the second national-scale state of environment report – Environment New Zealand 2007
establish a national environmental reporting programme.

The Ministry largely relies on others to collect the data and information for its national-scale reporting. This is because on-the-ground environmental monitoring is mostly carried out by regional councils and territorial authorities, Crown Research Institutes, other government departments, and other agencies. The Ministry works with them to collate the data and build a national picture.

Regional monitoring and reporting – local government

Local government carries out a wide range of environmental monitoring to meet its obligations under section 35(2)(a) of the Resource Management Act 1991. This says local authorities must monitor:

... [t]he state of the whole or any part of the environment of its region or district to the extent that is appropriate to enable the local authority to effectively carry out its functions under this Act.

While local authorities must monitor their environment, and make the results publicly available at least every five years, they are not legally required to report on its state.

In fact, most councils do. Increasingly, these are targeted reports that use regional environmental indicators to monitor specific aspects of the environment – for example, biodiversity or the coastal environment.

Local monitoring and reporting – communities

Across New Zealand there are iwi, hapū and community groups are involved in projects to monitor, protect and enhance the health of their local environment. Some use culturally based environmental monitoring and reporting tools that incorporate both traditional and science-based knowledge and methods. This localised work adds an important perspective to more formal monitoring regimes and management programmes.

How national-scale reporting fits with regional and local reporting

All environmental reporting has value, whether it happens at a local, regional or national scale.

National-scale reporting shows up significant trends in the environment across the whole country, as well as how widespread the changes or pressures are and how fast they are occurring. It therefore provides context for decision-makers setting national level policies.

Regional or localised reporting can’t tell us whether an observed environmental change or pressure is significant for the whole country, but it does produce the finer-level information needed for regional and local management responses and policy-making. And it helps build the national picture.

Previous| Next