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2 Purpose of this Document

Following the launch of Environment New Zealand 2007 on 31 January 2008, a variety of work-streams were established to strengthen the underpinning systems and processes for the environmental reporting programme. These include:

  • an independent review of the Environment New Zealand 2007 report

  • a review of national indicator reporting in New Zealand

  • a review of regional state of the environment reporting in New Zealand

  • a review of OECD member country state of the environment reporting

  • a comparison of the OECD core set of environmental indicators with New Zealand indicator reporting

  • data stocktakes for the set of national environmental indicators and their associated variables (parameters)

  • analysis of how the research, science and technology system might better support national-scale state of the environment reporting in New Zealand

  • development of an environmental reporting framework to document the strategic direction and scope of the Ministry’s environmental reporting work programme and record the key principles that underpin it

  • ongoing work to strengthen data-sharing arrangements with reporting partners who generate or collate national-scale environmental data.

A technical guide to New Zealand’s environmental indicators is a further piece of work to ensure that the national environmental reporting programme will be both robust and durable into the future.

The guide is a ‘working document’. This means that as new data sources become available, new monitoring methodologies become established, or new reporting formats are agreed, the document can be reviewed and updated as necessary to guide the Ministry in its environmental reporting work.

The primary objective of the guide is to record current specifications for the core set of national environmental indicators and their associated variables (see section 4). In addition, the report presents a suggested reporting format for each variable to ensure consistency by Ministry staff in the presentation of data over time.

As the Ministry is committed to continuous improvement in its environmental reporting programme, we welcome any feedback on this working document to:

environmental.reporting@mfe.govt.nz.

 

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