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February 2021The New Zealand wastewater sector report documents the challenges facing the wastewater sector in New Zealand. It describes the wastewater’s regulatory and service delivery elements, and examines issues affecting the sector. Read more -
January 2021This report describes a pilot study to validate methods and assess cost savings for the design of a large-scale replacement study of the 1998-2000 Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment. Read more -
December 2020This document provides a summary of the submissions in response to the Government's proposed amendments to the National Environmental Standards for Air Quality. Read more -
December 2020To register your interest in receiving funding form the Freshwater Improvement Fund, complete the Expressions of Interest form. Read more -
September 2020An evaluation report and compilation spreadsheet of available tools, databases and resources relating to the distribution of threatened freshwater species and their habitats in New Zealand. Read more -
August 2020This guidance document sets out recommended practice for the design of instream infrastructure to provide for fish passage and to set the foundation for the improvement of fish passage management in New Zealand. Read more -
August 2020The New Zealand Threat Classification System provides a tool for assigning a threat status to candidate taxa. Read more -
August 2020This report describes methods used to assess deposited sediment including the SAM2 method that is prescribed in Table 14 of Appendix 2B of the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020. Read more -
August 2020This report describes the method used to calculate the average score per metric (ASPM) indicator score. Read more -
July 2020This summary outlines the principal reasons which led to the review of the resource management system and the Resource Management Review Panel’s main recommendations in their report. Read more -
July 2020New Directions for Resource Management in New Zealand is a comprehensive review of our resource management system. The review process was an opportunity to design a new system for resource management that delivers better outcomes for our environment, society, economy, and culture. Read more -
May 2020This document provides a summary of the submissions received on the discussion document and at consultation events. Read more -
May 2020This report provides a summary of the submissions made on the proposals outlined in the Action for healthy waterways discussion document. Consultation on these proposals ran from 5 September to 31 October 2019. Read more -
April 2020In 2018, the Ministry asked Deloitte to consider the extent of water bottling in Aotearoa New Zealand NZ and the economic value of water bottling for water bottlers and communities. This report presents their findings. Read more -
December 2019The Ministry commissioned this report to improve our understanding of how geospatial information can inform meaningful engagement with iwi/hapū. Read more -
November 2019This report by Honorary Professor Peter Skelton concerns the management and allocation of freshwater in the Otago region. It contains recommendations for the Minister for the Environment on improving freshwater management under the Resource Management Act 1991. Read more -
November 2019The Resource Management Review Panel has been established to undertake a comprehensive review of the Resource Management Act and other significant legislation comprising the resource management system. Read more -
September 2019This is the report of the Science and Technical Advisory Group (STAG), an advisory group to the Essential Freshwater programme. This report highlights a strong focus by the Science and Technical Advisory Group on the health of the environment and the waterbody. Its content and recommendations provide additional metrics for the national freshwater management framework to strengthen the relationship between this national direction and ecosystem health and functioning. Read more -
September 2019The report by the Freshwater Leaders Group notes that to improve water quality, major changes are needed to the way that we as a country protect and manage our land and water. Read more -
September 2019This report by the Regional Sector Water Subgroup contributes the views and expeiences of regional councils to the Essential Freshwater programme. The group's advice focusses on likely impacts and practical implementation issues relating to proposed policies. Read more -
September 2019This document is an at a glance summary of the discussion document on national direction for freshwater. It provides an overview of proposals to stop the degradation of waterways and restore them to a healthy state. Read more -
September 2019This report by Kāhui Wai Māori sets out recommendations for our nation to journey together in implementing a managed transitoin to a new system of care and respect for water. Read more -
September 2019This document sets out proposals for consultation on measures to stop the degradation of waterways and restore them to a healthy state. Read more -
August 2019The Government is consulting on a proposal for a new National Policy Statement on Urban Development (NPS-UD). The NPS-UD will provide clear direction to local government about how to enable opportunities for development in New Zealand’s urban areas. Read more -
August 2019This document provides an ‘at a glance’ summary of the Government’s consultation on a proposal for a new National Policy Statement on Urban Development (NPS-UD). Read more -
April 2019This report presents the findings of a review of the effectiveness of the National Policy Statement on Electricity Transmission and the National Environmental Standard for Electricity Transmission Activities. Read more -
February 2019This review was carried out to improve understanding of marine habitats in New Zealand. Read more -
December 2018This report summarises the findings of the Ministry’s review of the National Environmental Standard for Source of Human Drinking Water. Read more -
December 2018Ministry for the Environment, in partnership with Bay of Plenty Regional Council, commissioned a literature review to get an accessible summary of relevant research carried out in New Zealand on methods to manage sediment and their economic assessment. Read more -
November 2018This report assesses how well we are developing and maintaining the regulatory regimes we are responsible for, including the state of each piece of legislation, any plans for amendments, and our view of important emerging issues. Read more -
July 2018In 2017, the Government strengthened the regulatory framework for the decommissioning of offshore oil and gas structures and pipelines in New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). This includes a new requirement for operators to provide a decommissioning plan before applying for a decommissioning-related marine consent. Read more -
June 2018The consultation document gives an overview of the draft first set of National Planning Standards (planning standards), what they aim to achieve, and implementation considerations. This consultation document is a companion to the draft first set of planning standards. Read more -
May 2018This report outlines the establishment of reference conditions and trigger values. Reference conditions are defined as the chemical, physical or biological conditions that can be expected in streams and rivers with minimal or no anthropogenic influence. Read more -
April 2018This report provides an analysis of New Zealand’s wetland loss for the period summer 2001/2 through to summer 2015/2016. Read more -
April 2018The Ministry for the Environment, Department of Conservation, and the Biological Heritage National Science Challenge co-funded research to look at contemporary losses of wetland extent in New Zealand. This report provides recommendations and a suggested path forward to improve our ability to monitor and report on national wetland extent. Read more -
March 2018This report sets out our research on tangata whenua provisions in district and regional planning documents and discusses their variation. Read more -
October 2017This report compares nutrient measurements in Wellington rivers by national recommended protocols versus Greater Wellington Regional Council’s historical protocols. Read more -
September 2017This report investigates how the structure, format, and presentation of RMA plans impact the ability of lay people to navigate and understand the plan provisions. Read more -
August 2017This report provides recommendations to the Minister for the Environment and Minister for Primary Industries on proposed amendments to the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2014. Read more -
August 2017This is an evaluation under s32AA of the Resource Management Act 1991, and further evaluates any changes to amendments proposed in the Clean Water discussion document since the initial s32 evaluation (published February 2017). Read more -
August 2017The Government is considering how best to manage the deposit of jettisoned material from space launch vehicles in the wider EEZ and extended continental shelf and is seeking feedback on its proposed regulation. Read more -
August 2017This report assesses the environmental risks to the Exclusive Economic Zone and continental shelf of threats arising from jettisoned material from space launch vehicles. Read more -
July 2017This project was aimed at developing Bay of Plenty Regional Council’s (BOPRC) staff capability to apply tools and frameworks to support freshwater policy development. It introduced tools, frameworks, processes and disciplines that will strengthen the policy process. Read more -
July 2017Since 2015, Gisborne District Council (GDC) and Beef and Lamb New Zealand have been engaging with Rere farmers to try and raise water quality together to a swimmable standard. Farmer interest and participation in the project has been high and this report tells the story of the Rere Project to date, including lessons, next steps and strategic implications. Read more -
June 2017The Chief Economist Unit (CEU) at the Auckland Council commissioned this study on behalf of the Ministry for Environment to look at the feasibility of developing a Computational General Equilibrium (CGE) model to analyse the economic impacts of implementing the National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management. Read more -
June 2017GDC approached AgResearch to develop a model of the cost-effectiveness of appropriate mitigation options that could be implemented on farm to address the issue of faecal contamination (as indicated by the presence of E. coli) of the river. Read more -
June 2017Otago Regional Council (ORC) requested a programme of experimentation that would deliver quantitative measurements of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations and fluxes in leachate reported for pasture, forage crop and native bush sites in the West Matukituki Valley, located west of Lake Wanaka. Read more -
June 2017The regional/unitary councils for Waikato, Auckland, and Northland require a model to predict the annual delivery and sources of sediment across their regions for the purposes of environmental reporting and to inform strategy, policy, and sediment management operations. This study addresses this requirement in two tasks. Read more -
June 2017In 2014 Gisborne District Council received funding from the Ministry for the Environment to undertake a community-based pilot project the Lower Waipaoa and Te Arai catchment areas to identify, protect and enhance inanga spawning sites. Read more -
May 2017This report examines how national policy statements on energy and electricity have been implemented and how they could be incorporated into the proposed National Planning Standards. Read more