Appendix 1: New Zealand’s Core National Environmental Indicators

The national environmental indicator for household consumption provides information on household consumption expenditure.

The indicator is a proxy measure of the pressure that households place on the environment through their consumption. It reports how much money households spend on a variety of goods and services. These goods and services can be grouped into various categories.

To report on the indicator, data on expenditure is presented against the following seven expenditure categories:

• food and beverages
• clothing and footwear
• housing
• household goods and services
• transport
• hotels and restaurants
  other goods and services.

The national environmental indicator for transport provides information on vehicle-kilometres travelled (VKT) by road.

To report on the indicator, VKT is measured by:

• fuel type (petrol or diesel)
• vehicle age
• vehicle type.

The first of two national environmental indicators for energy provides information on energy supply.

To report on the indicator, we measure:

• total primary energy supply (by fuel type)
• electricity generation (by fuel type).

The second national environmental indicator for energy provides information on energy demand.

To report on the indicator, we measure:

• total consumer energy demand (by fuel type and by sector)
• consumer energy demand compared to gross domestic product.

The national environmental indicator for waste provides information on the:

• quantity (by weight) of solid waste disposed of to landfill
• composition of solid waste disposed of to landfill.

The national environmental indicator for air provides information on concentrations of the following air pollutants in managed airsheds:

• PM₁₀
• nitrogen dioxide
• carbon monoxide
• sulphur dioxide
• ground-level ozone.

The first of two national environmental indicators for atmosphere provides information on emissions and removals of greenhouse gases.

To report on this indicator, emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulphur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons into the atmosphere are estimated, as well as the amount of greenhouse gas emissions removed from the atmosphere as a result of absorption by forestry.

The first of four national environmental indicators for land provides information on land cover across nine land cover classes:

• exotic forest
• exotic shrubland
• native forest
• native vegetation
• other native land cover
• primarily horticulture
• high-producing exotic grassland
• low producing grassland
• artificial surfaces.

• dairy
• intensive sheep and beef
• hill-country sheep and beef
• high-country sheep and beef
• deer
• other animals
• ungrazed

• urban
• planted forest
• arable crops
• vegetables
• berryfruit
• pipfruit
• grapes
• summer fruit

• tropical fruit
• kiwifruit
• flowers
• tussock
• native forest
• rivers, lakes, snow and ice
• scrub.

The six soil properties are:

• total carbon content
• total nitrogen content
• pH in water
• Olsen phosphate
• mineralisable nitrogen
• macroporosity.

The seven major land-use categories are:

• arable cropping
• mixed cropping
• drystock pasture
• dairy pasture
• tussock grasslands
• exotic forestry
• native forests.

The fourth of four land indicators provides information on hill country areas at risk from soil erosion. To report on this indicator, pasture on erosion-prone hill country is measured, by three categories of erosion potential:

• severe
• very severe
• extreme.

The first of five national environmental indicators for fresh water provides information on water quality in rivers.

To report on this indicator, the following are measured:

• nutrients (total and dissolved concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus including nitrate, ammoniacal nitrogen and dissolved reactive phosphorus)
• E. coli
• visual clarity
• water temperature
• dissolved oxygen
• macroinvertebrate richness in rivers (MCI and/or % EPT).

The second of five freshwater indicators provides information on water quality in lakes.

To report on this indicator, the Trophic Level Index (TLI) is measured, which comprises measurements of:

• total nitrogen
• total phosphorus
• visual clarity
• algal biomass.

The third of five freshwater indicators provides information on water quality in groundwater.

To report on this indicator, the following are measured:

• nitrate
• E. coli.

The fourth of five freshwater indicators provides information on water quality at swimming spots in rivers, streams and lakes.

To report on this indicator, concentrations of E. coli are measured.

The fifth and final freshwater indicator provides information on freshwater demand.

To report on this indicator, the volumes of water allocated to human uses are measured. This is also known as total (consumptive) water allocation.

The first of three national environmental indicators for oceans provides information on marine areas with legal protection.

To report on this indicator, the following are measured:

• the proportion of New Zealand’s territorial sea in marine reserve.
• the proportion of each class of the Coastal Biogeographic Regions Classification protected by marine reserve.

The second of three indicators for oceans provides information on fisheries effort.

To report on this indicator, the following are measured:

Fish stocks under the quota management system:

• total commercial catch (by weight) from fish caught both inside and outside of the Quota Management System
• the status of assessed fish stocks under the Quota Management System.

Seabed trawling in deep waters:

• the area ‘swept’ by commercial trawlers required to report position by latitude and longitude.
• the types of fish expected to be found in areas that have been swept.

The third indicator of three oceans indicators provides information on water quality at coastal swimming spots.

To report on this indicator, concentrations of bacteria (enterococci)at coastal swimming spots are measured.

The first of two national environmental indicators for biodiversity provides information on native land cover.

To report on this indicator, the following are measured:

• area of native land cover by Land Cover Database (LCDB) class
• area of native land cover by Land Environments of New Zealand (LENZ) class
• area of native land cover under legal protection.

The second of two indicators for biodiversity provides information on the distribution of selected native plants and animals.

To report on this indicator, the distribution of the following selected native indicator species is measured:

• lesser short tailed bat
• dactylanthus (wood rose)
• yellowhead / mohua.

• kiwi
• kokako

• kaka
• wrybill