New Zealand

Overview

The cornerstone of New Zealand’s green planning effort, the Resource Management Act (RMA) of 1991, has a single purpose that applies to all activities on land, air, water and the coast—the sustainable management of the nation’s natural and physical resources. New Zealand radically restructured its government institutions and revamped its laws to create well defined environmental policy and management roles. This included putting in place an innovative system of regional government with boundaries based on watersheds. Improved governance has resulted from greater public accountability, transparency of government activities and decision-making processes, and annual strategic planning at all levels of government.

Recent news

While the RMA focuses on the sustainable management of natural resources, both the New Zealand government and public recognize that sustainability principles and practices must be expanded to other sectors of New Zealand society. In January 2003 the New Zealand government committed to a Sustainable Development for New Zealand Program of Action to ensure that sustainable development concepts underpin all government activity.

The program focuses on the practical application of the sustainable development approach to certain key issues including:

• water quality and allocation
• energy
• sustainable cities
• child and youth development.

The government will take an active leadership role and has already set goals to guide the public sector in achieving sustainable development. Significantly the program highlights the need for collaboration and innovation, specifically forging partnerships with all sectors.

Importantly, New Zealand is interested in the results of its efforts. Statistics New Zealand has released a report, Monitoring Progress Towards a Sustainable New Zealand, that provides a selection of information related to sustainable development in New Zealand and will be reviewed regularly. The framework used in this report for selecting and developing the indicators incorporates the capital model proposed by the OECD, and the “theme” approach used in the United Nations (2001) Indicators for Sustainable Development: Guidelines and Methodology.

The action plan follows on from two reports released in August 2002: The Government’s Approach to Sustainable Development and a report by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Creating Our Future: Sustainable Development for New Zealand.

Currently

New Zealand led the world in 1991 when it enacted legislation with the single purpose being the sustainable management of the natural and physical resources of the country (replaced over 50 major resource and urban planning laws). More than ten years after inception, the RMA is still ahead of its time in terms of its comprehensive, integrated approach to managing the resources of the country. Throughout the 90s the basic framework established in the RMA provided the foundation for both regulatory and non-regulatory initiatives—tools to achieve a sustainable New Zealand.

One new building block is the Local Government Act 2002 which provides a new purpose for all local authorities based on sustainability principles. This will enable cities and regions to further integrate decision-making in tackling complex issues that inhibit sustainable development.

Enhanced public consultation in the preparation of the policies, programs and plans of local authorities has resulted in greater community involvement. RMA practitioners share best practices through formal associations, e.g., Local Government New Zealand, and informal methods, including the Quality Planning website. Under the Act the New Zealand Ministry for the Environment is responsible for monitoring and reporting on both the process (Annual Survey of Local Government) and the environmental results. The Environmental Reporting Program maintains a set of core environmental indicators to report on progress towards specific environmental goals.

Businesses are adopting triple bottom line reporting (reporting on social, environmental and economic impacts) as promoted by the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development and the New Zealand Businesses for Social Responsibility. National NGOs such as the New Zealand Royal Forest and Bird Society are joined by community organizations in participating in enhanced public participation processes while still fulfilling their essential role as environmental watchdogs.

RRI archives

Over the years RRI has benefited from the extensive analyses and research by staff, international advisors and guest contributors. RRI archives provide a valuable historic perspective on green planning in New Zealand (current to the year 2000) even though the information may not reflect current affairs. Please check the New Zealand archives for an extensive review of New Zealand’s environmental policy framework, copies of speeches and reports.

More online resources

Visit the New Zealand links page to find out more about New Zealand’s green plan, and review the RRI archives for additional information.