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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 -
August 2020The New Zealand Threat Classification System provides a tool for assigning a threat status to candidate taxa. 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 -
June 2002Information for lake managers on on native and exotic fish populations in substantial lakes and reservoirs. 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 -
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 -
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 -
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 -
April 2017This checklist outlines mandatory changes enacted through the Resource Legislation Amendment Act for councils to implement through their resource management processes. Read more -
June 2002Information for lake managers on pest fish and weeds in New Zealand lakes. Read more -
May 2017This report assesses the structure and format of regional rules, and how they vary around New Zealand. Read more -
May 2017This report examines the use of spatial planning tools across New Zealand and identifies commonalities and differences. 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 -
May 2017This 2013 report identified practice and trends in the structure, format and electronic delivery of RMA plans in New Zealand. 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 -
May 2017This report examines urban zone provisions within district plans throughout New Zealand to better understand the most commonly used provisions and the key differences in the core urban zones. Read more -
June 2003Every two years the Ministry for the Environment carries out the Resource Management Act (RMA) survey of all local authorities in New Zealand. The survey includes questions about six key aspects of RMA 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 -
May 2017This paper gives an overview of the new National Planning Standards tool. Read more -
December 2014This guide will help practitioners understand and implement new provisions that determine the timeframes for decision-making on fully and limited notified resource consent applications. Read more -
December 2014This guide will help practitioners understand and implement new provisions concerning the required content of resource consent applications under section 88 and Schedule 4 of the RMA. 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 -
May 2017This report studies five districts (Kaipara, New Plymouth, Taupo, Waimakariri and Clutha) to understand why district councils use ‘effects-based’ plans, and the usability and outcomes of such plans. Read more -
April 2018Mana Whakahono ā Rohe is a new tool designed to assist tangata whenua and local authorities discuss, agree and record how they will work together under the Resource Management Act. This guidance explains how the legislation can be implemented and provides ideas about what could be included in a Mana Whakahono ā Rohe arrangement. 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 -
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 -
April 2012This users’ guide explains the regulations and provides guidance to territorial and unitary authorities on implementing the National Environmental Standard for Assessing and Managing Contaminants in Soil to Protect Human Health. Read more -
May 2017This document gives a review of the electronic delivery of planning, and planning systems in five jurisdictions identified by the Ministry for the Environment . 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 -
October 2009To better understand the challenges faced by large resource consent applications, the Ministry commissioned a review of resource consent applications by TrustPower Ltd to construct and operate a hydro power scheme on the Wairau River, Marlborough. This report presents the review findings. 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 -
April 2017This guide will help practitioners and decision-makers undertake good practice section 32 evaluations. Read more -
July 2020This document provides guidance for applicants who wish to apply to the Minister for the Environment for their project to be referred to an expert consenting panel under the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast-track Consenting) Act 2020. 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