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August 2020The New Zealand Threat Classification System provides a tool for assigning a threat status to candidate taxa. Read more -
October 2017This report describes the rainfall indices and datasets used in the measure of rainfall intensity in the Environmental indicators Te taiao Aotearoa series. Read more -
February 2014This document explains the proposed new approach to environmental reporting in New Zealand introduced by the Environmental Reporting Bill. The Bill, tabled in February 2014, proposes greater clarity over the roles and responsibilities for environmental reporting in New Zealand. Read more -
June 2002Information for lake managers on on native and exotic fish populations in substantial lakes and reservoirs. Read more -
July 2008The Ministry commissioned an independent review to obtain stakeholder feedback on the readability, content and overall usefulness of the Environment New Zealand 2007 report. 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 2018These guidelines provide water managers with tools and guidance to assess, manage and monitor the water quality. They complement the existing National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (Freshwater NPS) which is the main direction to local government about how to manage fresh water in New Zealand. Read more -
December 2009These guidelines provide advice on how public health risk associated with cyanobacteria in recreational waters can be managed. Read more -
March 2000This protocol specifies a cost-effective method to determine the trophic levels of lakes, and changes in these levels over time. Read more -
June 2000A background review of the structure and value of periphyton communities in streams, factors controlling growth and composition of periphyton, and the effects of human activities on the community. Read more -
December 2006This document provides a step-by-step protocol for the collection of groundwater samples in New Zealand. Read more -
February 2017This report reviews the original report, 'Strategic assessment of New Zealand’s freshwaters for recreational use: a human health perspective'. 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 -
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 2019This guide provides information for people who import, manufacture, or sell products covered by New Zealand’s Water Efficiency Labelling Scheme (WELS). Read more -
April 2004This document provides interim guidance on ‘functional’ indicators of ecosystem processes, such as ecosystem metabolism Read more -
July 2001This publication provides background information about the sources, causes and processes involved with the deterioration of streams in farmed catchments and the consequences of that deterioration. 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 -
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 -
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 -
September 2020This document provides detailed technical guidance about the new freshwater planning process (FPP) introduced by the Resource Management Amendment Act 2020. Read more -
October 2018This document captures areas of shared interest in water quality and ecosystem health improvements and defines how the Crown and Māori will work together to make improvements to New Zealand’s freshwater. Read more -
June 2002Information for lake managers on pest fish and weeds in New Zealand lakes. Read more -
October 2018This document sets out the Government’s plan to restore and protect freshwater in New Zealand. Read more -
November 2001This protocol identifies and describes standardised protocols for use by agencies throughout New Zealand for macroinvertebrate biomonitoring. Read more -
October 2018This document describes a framework for assessing the biophysical ecosystem health of fresh water in Aotearoa New Zealand. 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 -
November 2013This report compiles a list of mitigation strategies for managing water quality that are currently available in New Zealand. It provides a commentary on their relative cost-effectiveness. Read more -
November 2013This report compiles a list of mitigation strategies for managing water quality that are currently available in New Zealand. It provides a commentary on their relative cost-effectiveness. Read more -
July 2008This proposed National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management sets out the objective and policies for managing New Zealand's freshwater resources under the Resource Management Act 1991. The NPS came into effect on 1 July 2011. Read more -
September 2005During 2005/06 the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) undertook a review of New Zealand’s environmental performance. This information sheet outlined the nature and process of the review and how interested individuals and groups could get involved. Read more -
December 2009The Water Research Strategy sets out the issues for water management and guides investment in water research. It is intended to guide the science sector to deliver the information and tools required to enable world class management of water resources in New Zealand. 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 -
October 2017This report details the methodologies underlying updated estimates of glacier ice volume change in New Zealand. The estimates were used in the measure of Annual glacier ice volumes in the Environmental indicators Te taiao Aotearoa series. Read more -
September 2019This is the draft of the proposed new National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM). It sets out the objectives and policies for freshwater management under the Resource Management Act 1991. Read more -
On tap?: Attitudes, behaviours, and perceptions of household water use – informing demand managementJuly 2009This report summarises research on household water use. It presents existing and new consumer research on attitudes to water, population segmentations, behaviours, and barriers and incentives to action. 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 -
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 -
August 2020The Wetland Delineation Protocols give a robust method for delineating wetlands based on the United States delineation system. Read more -
May 2017This report provides information on the categories used in the swimming maps, proposed targets, and proposed amendments to the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management released as part of the Government’s Clean Water package in February 2017. Read more -
May 2007This material is incorporated by reference in the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2020. Read more -
May 2011An evaluation of alternatives, benefits and costs under section 32 of the Resource Management Act 1991 was carried out before the introduction of the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2011. The NES came into effect on 1 July 2011. Read more -
November 1998This document provides standardised whole effluent toxicity testing (WETT) protocols to test the potential biological impact of discharges into the aquatic environment of contaminated wastewater. Read more -
May 2011The National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2011 sets out the objectives and policies for freshwater management under the Resource Management Act 1991. The NES came into effect on 1 July 2011. 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 -
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