Publication Search
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October 2020This report assesses the suitability of using New Zealand Rural Fire Authority’s Fire Danger Rating System as an indicator on wildfire risk for the Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ’s environmental reporting. Read more -
October 2020This report describes the climate datasets that were supplied by NIWA for use in Our atmosphere and climate 2020, and outlines the methodologies used to generate them. Read more -
May 2020This report scopes the potential development of a land-use intensity indicator for environmental reporting. Read more -
November 2019This report prepared by 4Sight Consulting and Market Economics is intended to test the proposed National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity (NPSIB) before public consultation and help inform stakeholders on the likely impacts, benefits and costs of the NPSIB. Read more -
October 2019This report updates indices for coastal and ocean extreme waves previously developed to quantify the occurrence of extreme wave events in New Zealand on an annual basis. Read more -
October 2019This report provides new coastal chlorophyll-a and sea-surface temperature analyses within New Zealand’s territorial waters. Read more -
October 2019This report updates previously published data (2015) on coastal sea-surface temperature from 11 sites around New Zealand. Read more -
October 2019This report updates indicators for non-indigenous species with new data compiled since 2016. Read more -
October 2019This report updates previously published statistics on mean sea-level series and trends at Auckland, Wellington, Lyttelton, Dunedin, New Plymouth and Moturiki (Mount Maunganui) to the end of 2018. Read more -
April 2019This report updates the state and trends of water quality of coastal and estuarine waters for physico-chemical (eg, pH), optical (eg clarity), nutrients (eg, nitrates), and microbiological parameters (eg, enterococci). Read more -
April 2016This business case provides analysis of the regulatory regime for 1080 operational use. Read more -
March 2016This report priorities suggested improvements to enhance and expand air domain reporting. Read more -
January 2016New Zealand's submission to the International Seabed Authority to support the development of a regulatory framework for the exploitation of seabed minerals. Read more -
October 2015This report has information on how spatial patterns of biodiversity can be measured and reported. Read more -
September 2015Citizen science is emerging as a new source of data that could potentially be used in environmental monitoring and reporting. This project looked at the Garden Bird Survey as an example of a citizen science dataset. Read more -
October 2014This report provides recommendations for new sites to improve representativeness in the New Zealand river environmental monitoring network. Read more -
May 2014The technical report commissioned to provide us with some of the data used in the 2014 Air domain report. Read more -
February 2014This NIWA report is a risk-based assessment of the spectrum of environmental effects of discharging tailings and sediments from the prospecting and exploration stages of mineral mining operations into the marine environment, considering all aspects of risk to the marine environment. Read more -
December 2013An investigation into the feasibility of using freshwater fish predictive models in national state of the environment indicators. Read more -
December 2013An assessment of the representativeness and statistical power of state of environment river monitoring sites across New Zealand. Read more -
December 2013The aim of a Composite River Condition Index for New Zealand is to combine a number of sub-indices to communicate a representative holistic picture of river condition. This report investigates three indices and discusses limitations and areas for improvement. Read more -
July 2013A comparison study of different predictive macroinvertebrate models. An approach is recommended and this is used to predict macroinvertebrate community condition in unmonitored reaches. Read more -
July 2013This report details the approach used to compile regional council and NIWA water quality data sets, calculate state and trends, and develop predictive models of water quality parameters. The modelling is used to predict water quality in unmonitored reaches. Read more -
April 2013This report develops definitions for biogenic (biologically formed) and geological environments identified as sensitive by National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) and the Ministry. Read more -
May 2012This independent report prepared for the Ministry by NIWA lists the known possible activities in the EEZ and describes their likely risk to the environment. It also recommends how activities could be classified under the proposed regulatory framework. Read more -
November 2010This report provides a national picture of current status (2005–2009) and trends in water quality of New Zealand lakes. It updates the 2006 report ‘A snapshot of lake water quality in New Zealand’. Read more -
September 2009This report provides an update of results for indicators of groundwater quality in New Zealand. It summarises average water quality at almost 1000 monitoring sites over the period 1995-2008, as well as trends at the same sites within that period of time. Read more -
March 2009This report summarises changes in fish communities in New Zealand rivers, including changes in relation to different land uses. Read more -
March 2008This technical report estimates the extent of dioxin contamination at sawmill sites in New Zealand where pentachlorophenol (known as PCP) was used as a timber treatment in sprays or dips until its withdrawal in 1988. Read more -
December 2007A report was commissioned in 2007 to investigate risk management options available to the aquaculture industry and regional and unitary authorities. Read more -
April 2007This report contains information about the scientific basis for the four national priorities for protecting rare and threatened indigenous biodiversity on private land and identifies key tools and references about each priority. Read more -
July 2006This report examines options for using market-based instruments to maximise the value and sustainability of New Zealand’s marine resource. Read more -
May 2006This report, commissioned in 2006, examines possible government actions and their ability to contribute to the sustainable development of marine resources. Read more -
June 2005This 2005 report looked at the information and tools needed to make smart decisions about the best future uses of our ocean. It assessed the range of information and decision-making tools available in 2005 and identified opportunities to improve requirements. Read more -
June 2005This 2005 report outlines opportunities to improve the requirements in the management of the environmental impacts of activities in New Zealand's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Read more -
June 2005The Marine Environment Classification (MEC) provides a general map that shows the variation in both the physical and biological characteristics of New Zealand's marine area within our Exclusive Economic Zone. Read more -
June 2004This report presents the extent of council effort and expenditure on biodiversity and the extent of biodiversity protection. Read more -
June 2003This 2003 report prepared by the Centre for Advanced Engineering provided information on economic opportunities for New Zealand's oceans. Read more -
May 2003This report presents the findings of research carried out to identify oceans management issues and problems facing local government and Department of Conservation conservancy staff. Read more -
February 2003A series of 11 working papers produced (compiled into one PDF) outlining the issues that were important to address in the Oceans Policy in 2003. Read more -
November 2002A 2002 stocktake of New Zealand's oceans legislation, policies, and strategies - and the international conventions New Zealand is a party to. Read more -
December 2000The Stream Periphyton Monitoring Manual describes a standard set of methods for regional councils, consultants and researchers to collect and analyse data on periphyton for resource surveys, impact assessments/monitoring, state of environment reporting and research studies. Read more -
September 2000This report confirms indicators for solid waste, hazardous waste and contaminated sites. It explains how these confirmed indicators fit into the wider Environmental Performance Indicators Programme, why they were chosen and how the indicators will be implemented and reported on. Read more -
May 2000This report describes the approach taken for estimating the water quality 'trigger' values for ecosystem protection used in the 2000 revision of the Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality (ANZECC 2000). The guidelines were revised in August 2018. Read more