Publication Search
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The New Zealand Stream Health Monitoring and Assessment Kit (SHMAK) helps users collect consistent, scientifically valid information from small rural streams to make assessments of stream health. 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 -
December 2017This report analyses the state of freshwater quality for the past 25 years based on a national scale model. Read more -
May 2017This paper by Landcare Research reviews science that underpins present best practice guidance for erosion and sediment control (ESC) and identifies gaps in present knowledge and research. Read more -
May 2007This report presents the results of the first round of monitoring of Urban Design Protocol signatories' action plans. The results indicated healthy progress was being made towards giving effect to the Protocol. Read more -
March 2002A summary of the guide on what urban design is and how to achieve better urban design. Read more -
August 2020This report describes a prototype for a New Zealand River Ecosystem Health Scorecard, conceived as a simple, easily interpretable and holistic communication tool for the state of the biophysical condition of rivers and streams in New Zealand. Read more -
December 2013An assessment of the representativeness and statistical power of state of environment river monitoring sites across New Zealand. Read more -
April 2019This report summaries the published literature on land-use impacts on New Zealand's freshwater and coastal environments. Read more -
December 2017This report estimates the net amount of surface water available in New Zealand and in each region between 1995 and 2014. 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 -
May 2018This report provides an environmental classification system for a potential deposited sediment indicator in the National Objectives Framework. The system classifies streams according to their modelled reference state. This report is an interim deliverable for an ongoing research programme that builds on and refines its findings and will conclude in June 2018. Read more -
November 2005These guidelines outline how urban planning, design and place management strategies can reduce the likelihood of crime and deliver numerous social and economic benefits. 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 -
March 2009This report summarises changes in fish communities in New Zealand rivers, including changes in relation to different land uses. 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 -
December 2020This report translates the planetary boundaries framework to show New Zealand’s global environmental connections and quantifies where our country sits in terms of operating within environmentally safe boundaries. Read more -
June 2008A 'beginner’s guide' to understanding those parts of the Drinking-Water Standards for New Zealand considered to be most relevant to the implementation of the National Environmental Standard for Sources of Drinking Water. Read more -
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 -
February 2017This report is a strategic assessment of New Zealand’s freshwaters for recreational use from a human health perspective. It outlines the methods used to produce spatial predictions of E. coli and cynobacterial biovolume at unmonitored locations. 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 -
September 2019This report reviews New Zealand literature on the effects of environmental degradation of freshwater ecosystems on social, cultural, environmental, and economic outcomes in New Zealand. Read more -
May 2019This report outlines recommended changes to the ‘Interim New Zealand Guidelines for Cyanobacteria in Recreational Fresh Waters’. Read more -
May 2019This report analyses seasonal patterns in river and lake water quality across New Zealand, using data from 2013–2017. 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 -
November 2013This technical report provides evidence and advice used in setting the E. Coli attribute bands for secondary contact recreation in rivers and lakes. 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 -
March 2019This updated National Implementation Plan outlines measures to implement our obligations relating to new persistent organic pollutants added to the Stockholm Convention in 2009, 2013, 2015, and 2017. It also reports on New Zealand’s achievements in phasing out the 12 initial POPs. Read more -
November 2006This 2006 discussion paper draws together the measures that make up New Zealand’s contaminated land policy framework, and evaluates them to identify any gaps and possible solutions/improvements to the existing framework. Read more -
May 2019This report reviews how mechanistic (process-based) models simulate periphyton biomass using algorithms describing known growth and loss processes based on nutrients, light, temperature, grazing, and physical factors. Read more -
September 2007This paper sets out a prioritised Ministry work programme to help manage contaminated land. Read more -
April 2004This document provides interim guidance on ‘functional’ indicators of ecosystem processes, such as ecosystem metabolism Read more -
May 2019This report summarises a workshop held to gather feedback on the ‘Interim New Zealand Guidelines for Cyanobacteria in Recreational Fresh Waters’. Read more -
September 2007This report contains a summary of the submissions received on the discussion paper Working Towards a Comprehensive Policy Framework for Managing Contaminated Land in New Zealand – Discussion paper. Read more -
April 2011This guideline has been developed through a partnership between the Ministry for the Environment, regional councils and unitary authorities to ensure consistency in the reporting on contaminated sites. 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 -
November 2019This report presents the approach and results of groundwater use in New Zealand. Read more -
April 2019This report summarises analysis methods and outcomes for state and trends across New Zealand’s lake water quality monitoring network. Read more -
April 2019This report summarises analysis methods and outcomes for state and trends across New Zealand’s river water quality monitoring network. Read more -
July 2009This report summarises changes in nuisance periphyton (algal) growth at National River Water Quality Network sites between 1990 and 2006. Read more -
September 2016This draft revised guideline has been released to assist understanding of the proposed amendments to the National Environmental Standard for Assessing and Managing Contaminants in Soil to Protect Human Health. The final revised guideline will be gazetted in early 2017. Read more -
May 2019This report analyses environmental conditions that cause the growth of periphyton in streams and rivers. 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 -
November 2003The Ministry and local government developed these guidelines to ensure the consistent selection and application of the environmental guideline values most commonly used in contaminated site assessments in New Zealand. Read more -
September 2019This draft NIWA report provides the first attempt to develop bottom-line thresholds for suspended and deposited sediment based on ecological responses for New Zealand rivers and streams. Read more