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Resource Renewal Institute |
RRI Green Planning Archives: New Zealand New Zealand Policy Tour 1999: Summary Report 1. Environmental Management in New Zealand 2. New Zealand Policy Tour: April 1999 1.0 Environmental Management in New Zealand Several countries around the world are proving that environmental sustainability and economic vitality are not mutually exclusive. Through a shared vision and cooperative effort among all sectors of society, these nations are demonstrating that a healthy environment, enhanced quality of life, and a vibrant economy not only can coexist, they must coexist to remain viable over time. These nations, which include the Netherlands and New Zealand, employ the green planning process to achieve their environmental and economic goals. 1.1 New Zealand: A New Political Structure Based on Sustainable Management Responding to an economic crisis during the mid-1980s, New Zealanders re-examined their entire political structure and found it arbitrary and incompatible with effective resource management. New Zealand's stakeholders followed a process of negotiation and compromise to arrive at an integrated action plan for sustainability - the Resource Management Act (RMA) of 1991. This historic legislation was the result of the largest display of public participation in New Zealand's history and has created a dramatic change in the nation's environmental management framework, including:
The key principle driving the RMA is the sustainable management of New Zealand's resources. This is defined in the Act as managing the use, development, and protection of natural and physical resources in a way, or at a rate, that enables people and communities to provide for their social, economic, and cultural well-being and for their health and safety, while:
Any actions taken under the RMA - in effect, any decisions that may have environmental consequences - must satisfy these requirements. Of key importance is the requirement that while social, economic, and cultural objectives will play an important role in decision-making, they cannot be allowed to threaten the sustainability of ecosystems. This definition of sustainable management has allowed New Zealand to apply the principles of sustainable development in a practical fashion to the problems of managing its own resources. The RMA was designed to be comprehensive, incorporating resources, ecosystems, and the links between them, and integrating environmental policies and actions across governmental jurisdictions and within society as a whole. The Act is also intended to decentralize most resource-related decisions to the level of government closest to the problem and to the citizens who will be affected, in order to improve efficiency and accountability. In addition, the RMA recognizes the indigenous Maori people's rights over natural resources according to the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, as well as the importance of Maori principles of stewardship to the concept of sustainable management. Under the old system of resource laws, New Zealand was heavily dependent on prescriptive planning and regulation that restricted activities. Under the RMA, the emphasis is on the effects that activities will have on the environment. In other words, rather than telling property owners that they have to build houses here or can not put a business there; the RMA has set up a process for determining environmental quality standards and ensuring that they will not be contravened. Within that framework, people are allowed the freedom to make their own decisions regarding the use of their land. However, in the case of community-owned and/or -managed land and resources, such as water, the reverse is true: activities are not allowed unless specifically permitted. This system produces a strict bottom line of environmental protection. For example, unless explicitly allowed by a plan or permit, no one is allowed to discharge pollutants into the water. Also, under the RMA every New Zealander is responsible for any adverse effects his or her activities may have on the environment. Each citizen is required to either avoid the adverse effects, remedy those effects, or mitigate them. Any individual or government agency can seek a restraining order against environmentally damaging activities, and the public also has a right to a voice in all environmental decisions and planning. 1.2 Local Green Planning Processes in New Zealand With only 3.5 million people living on a land mass the size of California, New Zealand's approach to sustainable management is necessarily dependent upon successful application at the regional (watershed) and local levels. The quality of the existing regional and local plans varies widely in New Zealand. Highlighted here are three examples of successful local planning under the RMA framework. The Canterbury Regional Council, the Auckland Regional Council, and the Waitakere City Council are leading the way in the development of comprehensive plans based on the principles of sustainability. Each council is utilizing a broad palette of measures beyond regulation to achieve its environmental goals. The Canterbury Regional Council provides a stellar example of planning under the RMA with the process it employed to develop its management plan for the South Island high country, a sensitive ecosystem with many competing interests vying for a say in its management. The key to Canterbury's success was the council's policy of wide consultation with interest groups and citizens, which emphasized early and frequent meetings with all stakeholders and a willingness by the council to modify its approach based on the feedback received. Another important aspect of the regional plan's development was the use of a mediator to facilitate meetings among representatives of the key groups involved, including farmers, environmental groups, and scientists. Of late, the region has pressed forward with establishing regional sustainability indicators and has called upon international experts to help create a model sustainable region. The Auckland Regional Council has worked with local district councils to establish a Regional Growth Forum that has taken a mediated approach to achieving regional planning policies. Formed in 1996, the Growth Forum has set an urban growth agenda for New Zealand's largest metropolis that has been agreed upon by the region's seven cities. After numerous failed efforts over the past two decades, the region is on track with a strategy that will encourage transit use, steer development to 'urban villages' within existing growth boundaries, and secure the quality of the natural environment. Perhaps the most visionary leadership at the local level has come from the Waitakere City Council. Hailed as New Zealand's first "eco-city," Waitakere is recognized internationally as a model for other communities. Its plan provides for overhauling suburban sprawl, promoting infill development, and creating a network of streamways and ecological corridors that includes a pilot program for restoring urban riparian habitats. Waitakere has also taken the lead in promoting water conservation as an alternative to "end-of-pipe" engineering solutions. Waitakere's eco-city vision has proven to be contagious: neighbors such as Auckland City Council have realized that the eco-city's integrated and strategic approach to environmental management and urban planning is the wave of the future, and have begun to develop broad environmental policies, "State of the Environment" reports, environmental monitoring programs, and transit-oriented urban village strategies. New Zealand Policy Tour Participants Bob Wilkinson, President, Board of Directors, Earth Island Institute |
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| 2.0 New Zealand Policy Tour: April 1999
One of the Resource Renewal Institute's most effective tools for educating leaders in government, industry, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) about the attributes and implementation of green plans is the "Seeing is Believing" policy tour. This past spring, RRI arranged a one-week policy tour of New Zealand for a delegation of eight U.S. environmental practitioners, mainly from California. The tour participants met with government representatives from the local, regional, and central levels, academics, business professionals, and NGOs to hear the various perspectives on New Zealand's environmental management policies. Specifically, the tour focused on the Resource Management Act (RMA) and the local government reform process that has included the installation of a watershed-based regional government structure. The following is a summary report on the key themes that emerged during the recent New Zealand policy tour, drawn from 1) presentations by New Zealand cross-sectoral leaders; 2) commentary by tour participants; and 3) RRI's own policy assessment. 2.1 Varied Perspectives Provide a More In-Depth View of the RMA The policy tour delegates visited New Zealand at an interesting phase in the development of its environmental policy. The RMA is currently under review and is the focus of extensive debate. Tour delegates and RRI staff learned important lessons about the intricate and often complex process of translating the theory and vision of sustainability into the day-to-day and on-the-ground realities of planning practice. The first day of the policy tour focused on one of the leading examples of sustainable community planning in New Zealand with a visit to the Waitakere City Council. The council jurisdiction is roughly the size of a county in California and the topography is very similar to Marin County in the San Francisco Bay Area because of its analogous proximity to a major metropolitan city, its dramatic and sparsely populated west coast, and its protected range of coastal mountains that support drinking water reservoirs. Previously, Waitakere was comprised of numerous cities and special districts, that are now amalgamated into one city council through the local government reform process. The day was filled with insightful discussions on the district planning process, inspirational commentary for Waitakere's Mayor, and an enlightening introduction to the inclusion of indigenous Maori perspectives with a visit to a "Marae," the traditional meeting house of one of the local Maori communities. The next morning was spent at the Auckland University Planning School where the faculty held an informal discussion with the delegation. The faculty provided a helpful perspective on the context out of which the Resource Management Act emerged and the present state of planning practice in New Zealand. In the afternoon, the delegation visited with the Auckland Regional Council to learn about the planning requirements for regional councils under the RMA framework. Additionally, the council staff provided an introduction to the unique Auckland Regional Growth Forum that the region's local governments have established to help cope with projected population growth for New Zealand's largest metropolitan area. On the third day of the policy tour, the California delegates were put into an entirely different setting with a visit to Kapiti Island Nature Reserve, one of the many nature preserves managed by the New Zealand Department of Conservation. Kapiti Island lies off the Southwest coast of New Zealand's North Island near the capitol of Wellington. The island has been a protected nature reserve since the early part of the century. The restoration of the native flora and fauna has taken nearly 80 years, but now all the vegetation regenerates naturally. The following day, the delegation spent the morning with national NGO representatives for a roundtable discussion on NGO perspectives on the RMA framework. The discussion also focused on the RMA review process currently underway in the New Zealand Parliament. The assembled group of NGOs provided an important balance to the perspective of the Central government as represented by the Ministry for the Environment (MfE) which hosted the delegation in the afternoon. Between the two sessions, half of the tour participants met with a group of national business representatives prior to their quarterly update from the MfE executive officer. The afternoon at the Ministry provided an excellent summary of the many ongoing programs executed at the central government level under the RMA. The final day of the policy tour was in Queenstown, situated in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand. Representatives from the Otago Regional Council presented the region's planning programs and helped tie together the entire week with their ability to field questions from participants throughout the session. The Otago Regional Council offered a good perspective on rural planning issues under the RMA and provided an excellent juxtaposition to the urban planning issues seen in the Auckland region. Each of the presentations and site visits from the policy tour allowed participants to hear and see a different perspective on the complex environmental management issues faced by a nation that is actively moving in the direction of sustainable management. The week as a whole provided the policy tour participants with a more complete perspective on the planning practices in New Zealand and highlighted the dedication of the nation's many passionate environmental practitioners. 2.2 The Resource Management Act Review Process RRI's "Seeing is Believing" policy tour visited in New Zealand at a critical juncture in the evolution of the Country's environmental policy. Following the release of a controversial report in early 1998 (independently commissioned by Environment Minister Simon Upton), the nation entered a review and discussion process on the RMA that has culminated with the introduction of an Amendment Bill to the House of Parliament. The amendment proposes changes to the RMA to clear up particular contradictions that have arisen since the RMA was enacted, and to increase the flexibility of the RMA to better meet the needs of business. New Zealand NGOs are highly critical of the proposed reforms and have formed a new political action committee called Action for the Community and the Environment (ACE). ACE levels the following criticism:
NGO leaders and other policy tour hosts spoke of how the RMA needs time to mature as a legislative tool, allowing for case law to be developed and for environmental planning to evolve within a supportive national framework. Changes to the RMA will be necessary over time, but the currently proposed amendments may prematurely weaken the RMA's potential. Shan Elias, a New Zealand High Court Judge, recently stated, "the RMA is flawed by over-expectations," and her comments reflect the need to explore alternatives for achieving environmental goals. As of this writing, the Environment Minister has stated that the Resource Management Amendment Bill that has been introduced "is [not] likely to be passed before the end of year." Before that time, New Zealand will hold its second election under the new proportional representation political system. There is a strong consensus among New Zealand environmental practitioners that the RMA is a valuable framework for approaching environmental management. However, there is also a general belief from all sides that the RMA can still be improved, although such changes would be 'adjustments' as opposed to a complete 'overhaul'. Which direction these improvements head is the focus of considerable debate in the RMA revision process. The review process will determine a great deal about the future direction of the RMA. |
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| 3.0 Participant Reflections
What follows are comments made by policy tour participants regarding their perspectives on the value of the Resource Management Act and the overall environmental management framework for New Zealand. 3.1 The RMA is a Viable Environmental Policy Framework RRI's policy tour participants were convinced that the RMA is a robust tool, though still in need of some improvement. The delegates were supportive of a range of elements of New Zealand's environmental management framework, including the visionary approach of the RMA, the goal-oriented environmental management structure, and a sense that the RMA development process was a "bottom-up" participatory effort. Bob Wilkinson: "I think the lesson that really came home in the last series of discussions after five days, now, of conversations is that everyone we've talked to, from the Ministry to local government to NGOs, seems to think the Act is a good piece of legislation as an effort, but needs improvement. Then, everyone seems to have a different idea about how to improve it with some similarities. Generally, public input is an issue, central authority versus local authority, regional authority levels is an issue, the use of science and technology information is an issue. But, everyone seems to agree that it's worth working at, that it's a good start and worth pursuing." Kathleen McIntosh: "I think the most important lesson we have learned is that environmental management is an ongoing process. It's meant to be a give and take and it's never really finished." Paul Sage: "what stands out the most right now, is the diversity between theory and practice; that there's been a great shift in thinking, a paradigm shift which has now been accompanied by a change in behavior. People are beginning to act differently in accordance with the difference in thinking. And, I think, that's led to ...a split evaluation of the success. If you look at it from the shift that occurred in thinking with the government reform and the introduction and consolidation and integration of resource management on the theoretical side, it's been quite successful. On the shift in terms of people's practices and the way they do business, that's taking more time and it appears to be a mixed result as to how well that's doing. But, I think that's understandable." Debbie Drake: "I think that I have learned a lot about the RMA that it is simply a tool, it's a piece of legislation, and it is not a panacea, it is not going to solve all of the environmental problems in New Zealand. I think what it has done is helped to raise the awareness. When talking to New Zealanders around the country, people are talking about clean and green New Zealand and almost taking that for granted, and assuming that it is always going to be clean and green. So, I think, through the development of the RMA, we have seen a greater awareness about the need for conservation in New Zealand." Chris Elias: "the lesson that I have learned is that [the RMA] is, indeed, a visionary approach to managing the effects of human activities on the environment, on the physical environment that we occupy. And, that, also it took some bringing back together of various, and sometimes opposing stakeholders sitting at the table and crafting a vision for a country they all love.... With that approach to try to manage the resources of the country, I thought... they ended up with what [is] a very laudable goal. The Resource Management Act, which is the product of this collaborative effort, is indeed one to be admired." Holly Carrington: "I think that having the sort of structure in place that the RMA sets in place is really the wave of the future, and that eventually, countries are going to have to move toward having a more goal-oriented environmental structure that's really more comprehensive. So, it's great to see it in place in New Zealand and to see that it's working. And to see from, in fact, all the people that we met with [that they] did agree that the RMA was a great vehicle as a framework and everyone agreed with the principle that it set out. What was interesting was then to hear about the issues and problems that people had specific to the Act, so that we might learn from those problems. So that if we eventually do put something in place similar to the RMA, we will be able to bypass some of those mistakes." Mike McLaughlin: "I think regardless of the Resource Management Act, what's more important is probably the sense of how important green resource protection is, of what's important and what's valued, by the residents of the country." Linda Novy: "Well, I've learned that the RMA is a very complex, yet visionary Act. And, that it's being interpreted in a decentralized manner. I don't think its got all the answers, but I'm impressed and inspired that the issue is being openly debated in the country. Certainly the sharing of the Act with my colleagues and with our local government I think is important." 3.2 Local Government Reform: An Important Element of Environmental Management Policy tour participants were particularly impressed with how central and local government reform was accomplished alongside the RMA process. Delegates specifically highlighted the fact that the land-use planning process is integrated with broader resource management issues. Participants also noted that the Regional Councils have been structured to look at environmental issues in an ecosystem and watershed oriented manner, and comprehensive decision-making processes have been housed at the level closest to the citizens affected by the policy. Finally, reforms at both the central and local levels have established clearer roles and responsibilities, formalized long-term strategic planning, and increased public accountability and consultation. Bob Wilkinson: "One of the most interesting things about the New Zealand lesson for us, I think, is the linkage of local land-use planning and resource management. These are distinct issues in policy and law in the United States, and California in my case. Here, you've linked local land-use questions and resource-use questions in one integrated legal structure, and that's probably the most interesting part of this. That involves local-level decision-makers all the way up to the national level in trying to sort out priorities." Debbie Drake: "My current position has taken me away from work in conservation policy into the realm of fiscal and governance issues. The policy tour confirmed my belief that all these issues are interconnected and that the greatest conservation outcome can only be achieved through a functioning fiscal and governance structure. Our project is looking at governance reform and making the connection between conservation and governance reform in California. So, I think that some of the restructuring that [New Zealand] did with local governments, and the whole concept of the regional government will be very important. Here, that was mandated through law, those types of changes, and we probably won't see that in California. But, if there is a way to look at voluntarily organizing along the regional lines, and the model that the central government develops policy and the regional and districts implement that in a fashion that is well suited to their particular region, so that there's flexibility in achieving conservation outcomes. I think in that regard, you're going to get broader community support. You're going to see it from the bottom-up. You will really see people at the local level utilizing the tools of the RMA, [and] some of the other environmental programs to make sure that their communities are growing in an environmentally sound way." Holly Carrington: "I was most interested to learn about how the complicated issues associated with urban growth in the Auckland region are being dealt with under the RMA framework, as I believe urban growth issues to be of the utmost importance in California. Again, it seems that the framework is a good one in terms of mandating that regional plans must conform to the RMA framework, and that local/district plans must conform to the regional plans. Thereby giving authority to the Auckland Regional Council to coordinate local planning in order to have a regional growth plan that will result in a vital region with a high quality of life for all residents, given population growth projections over the next 20 and 50 years." Mike McLaughlin: "We're going through a very important part of dealing with our growth in the San Diego region, and I think that there are a number of components that I have seen in the green planning efforts in New Zealand that will raise the consciousness of that part of the Growth Management Strategy. The key will be to integrate the concepts, philosophy and principles into every day planning. Whether it's labeled green planning or not, I'm convinced SANDAG's Smart Growth Strategy will benefit from this experience." Kathleen McIntosh: "Well, in the United States, the League is working on the form of government. It's very important for citizens to have input and I believe that the New Zealand model really stresses citizen input. It's important for citizens to know what's going on in their community, and have some say in what's going on in their community. And, under the New Zealand model, the RMA in particular, they have. Instead of having a top-down approach, they've implemented a bottom-up approach-where they've given more power to the local citizenry and the regional councils there, and decentralized the government and the decisions regarding the environment. And I think that's an important lesson to bring back to the U.S." 3.3 Strong Comparisons can be Drawn Between New Zealand and California While significant differences exist between New Zealand and the U.S. in terms of both culture and governance, important lessons can be learned when comparing the evolution of environmental policy in the two nations. California, for example, has a history of development that is not unlike New Zealand's (See Appendix 3 for comparative data). Both places were colonized and saw tremendous growth in the mid-19th century, primarily as a result of gold rushes. Policy tour participants expressed the feeling that New Zealand has an extraordinary environment with many similarities to California. Both locales face similar challenges and problems in areas such as growth management, water supply and treatment, and biodiversity. The local development pressures in New Zealand resonated with the California practitioners and there was a certain amount of commiseration with our hosts on these issues. Linda Novy: "I found it very interesting that New Zealand is facing some of the same issues as California and the U.S. in its larger cities as well as a similar conflict and need for relationships and bridges between the NGOs, business, and government. Also, the very deep ecological question of the intrinsic value of an ecosystem versus its economic value. I think that New Zealand is dealing with the same kinds of tensions between private land-use and public land-use, and also between how can you have business succeed and the environment succeed. And so I think that we will look to New Zealand, our new-found colleagues, to see how they're dealing with it and share our progress, as well." Paul Sage: "for me, ideas are very important. And learning how to take new ideas and apply them to practices, therefore, I am interested in learning more about the practice and the changing application of resource management that's going on. Taking that, ...and then going back and facing some of the problems in the United States that I wrestle with in terms of my clients needs, ...there is a great deal to be learned.... And from the point of view of a practitioner, there's a lot of value in understanding how it's being done, not just how it was devised to be done, but how it is actually being done." Bob Wilkinson: "I think part of it actually was to see how much similarity there is in California to New Zealand in terms of the time span, about 150 years of policy development, resource exploitation, land-use, development of urban centers and towns, and similar problems with deforestation, use of water, endangered species, and impacts on biodiversity. So, a whole range of questions that are really, in many ways similar, so, we have a lot to learn from both the positive lessons and the negative. And from, in particular, the way people here are approaching discussing the issue, public process." Debbie Drake: "I think that one of the important lessons that I learned was that New Zealand is facing a lot of the same types of challenges that we are in the United States. A lot of the problems are very similar relating to growth and the biodiversity issues-extinctions with the incoming population." 3.4 Strengths of the RMA framework Overall, New Zealand has an environmental management framework in place that should allow for broad achievements on environmental goals. Similarly, the governance structure is well designed for decentralizing responsibilities. Underlying these characteristics is the enabling legislation of the RMA. Debbie Drake: "The green planning process is a great model for integration and collaboration for governance and land-use issues. The process is also a valuable organizing tool for increasing public awareness about conservation. I was very interested in the policy development surrounding the RMA and learned about the government restructuring to support the RMA. I did learn about the public participation element of green plans and think the model could be utilized in California." Three of the strongest pieces of the New Zealand model that were highlighted by the policy tour participants were the inclusion of the indigenous Maori perspectives in policy decisions, the significance of effective leadership in implementing the RMA, and the successful restoration of Kapiti Island. Maori Integration From the first day of the policy tour, the culture of the Maori people was incorporated into the explanation of New Zealand's approach to environmental management. The staff of the Waitakere City Council welcomed RRI's delegates with a traditional ceremony called a "Powhiri," complete with singing and "Hongi," a traditional greeting that involves the touching of noses and foreheads. Chris Elias: "It was very interesting to see the fact that the popular culture now allows the Maori values and culture into everyday activities of government and the people of New Zealand." Linda Novy: "I'd say the real highlights for me were the powhiri in Waitakere. The fact that the Maori culture is integrated into [Waitakere's] city council, the Marae in Waitakere, the ritual, the whole spirit of stewardship, definitely the Maori integration. We do nothing like that in the U.S. and it is something I am going to take back." Paul Sage: "the integration of the Maori values and world-view. That was very striking and very powerful when we first arrived and had an opportunity to participate in some Maori ceremonies and then to see how that had been brought into the resource management process." Kathleen McIntosh: "I came away enlightened by the spirit of acceptance and inclusion for the traditions of the Maori people among [Waitakere] city staff." Leadership Holly Carrington: "It was impressive to see that not only were many of the local officials deeply committed to meeting the goals of the RMA and their local/regional plans, but also committed to disseminating their wisdom to help other countries/states implement a more effective effects-based environmental management policy framework. I think two of the highlights would have been meeting Mayor Bob Harvey, who is a unique individual, but I think quite inspirational. And, we need to have more local officials that are that inspirational, everywhere but definitely in California. The other person that I really found inspirational was Cath Wallace, who sounds like she has just done some amazing work on a shoe-string budget with NGOs in New Zealand." Kathleen McIntosh: "I came away from [the Waitakere] visit invigorated by the "can do" attitude of Mayor Bob and his staff. Also, the council building itself was a testament to how city government should function. It clearly was people-friendly and a warm and inviting place to be. Rather than a bureaucratic monolithic structure, this was a place where a citizen would look forward to visiting and sharing with family and friends. This city clearly has the right idea about how government should function." Linda Novy: "I think, also, the example in Waitakere, where there is inspired leadership, also just meeting with the Otago Regional Council where there's inspired leadership, the RMA works. So, I felt there is a need for that back home. We need to have leaders and champions to really move this platform forward. The need for leaders who have soul and take risks for the right reasons is profound." |
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Restoration Kathleen McIntosh: "For me the highlight was Kapiti Island because you have a living aviary, without any walls. And it shows you that you really can preserve the environment, and that you can take a piece of land or take an environment that is basically extinct and rebuild that. And, so, often times in the United States we look at the loss of our environmental resources as permanent, and Kapiti Island shows you that that is really not the case. You can rebuild." Linda Novy: "And how seeing, in Kapiti, the endangered birds, walking on a poster that said 'endangered birds,' seeing four of 120 birds in the world of this particular variety. I felt that extinction is forever, it brought it home for me." 3.5 Concerns about the RMA Framework In general, New Zealand has positioned itself as an innovator - out in front leading, the way - however, there are threats to the success of New Zealand's green planning efforts. Business Involvement The low support for the RMA from the business sector remains a difficult issue for policy-makers in New Zealand. Fortunately, there is a shift underway with the establishment of entities like the New Zealand World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Additionally, the voluntary "Codes of Conduct" for businesses have shown some success and there is an emerging effort to achieve ISO 14000 certification in some instances. Chris Elias: "The RRI Policy Tour validated the principles we have long espoused at the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group that collaboration, not confrontation, is the best formula for success in implementing major public policy initiatives. I was also delighted to learn that [the] voluntary approach to environmental management is the new approach being explored in the Otago Regional Council area, where farmers are looking to obtain ISO 14000 certification for their operations. ...One of the things that I felt was a good product ...was the desire by the industry sector, by the business sector, to devise what are called 'codes of practice,' and essentially those codes of practice became the conditions under which those businesses were operating. In other words, it became a voluntary scheme, and which essentially overtook the regulatory scheme. And, since the businesses crafted it, and it was acceptable to regulators, and essentially became the modus operandum, or the conditions under which the business could operate comfortably, to stay away from regulation, but to do things in their comfort zone." Monitoring Another area that is under improvement in the RMA framework is an effective system for monitoring and evaluating success in terms of achieving environmental goals. New Zealand's Ministry for the Environment is currently developing a more effective feedback mechanism with its Environmental Performance Indicators. This present effort was of great interest to RRI's policy tour participants because of the many efforts underway to develop indicators in U.S. communities. Ideally, effective monitoring should be built into the green planning process from the beginning so that when policy goals are met there is a clear way to communicate that success to the public. Linda Novy: "Specifically, I think the indicators work ... and the monitoring, I will take that [information] back. The fact that the government is leading the indicator work, whereas in my area, in the San Francisco Bay Area, its from the grassroots organizations, It's not government led." Holly Carrington: "California, the U.S., and other countries could certainly learn a great deal from the New Zealand experience in terms of thinking long-term and holistically about resource management. It seems that New Zealand has done an excellent job of setting out long-range performance goals nationally, regionally, and locally, and has begun to make progress in meeting those goals, although not consistently at the local level. What does seem to be missing is a comprehensive national strategy for monitoring progress towards long-term goals. It seems clear that this should have been an important aspect of the RMA to establish from the outset, so that success or failure of the Act's implementation does not get judged in status quo terms, i.e. overwhelmingly economic, rather than a balance between economic, environmental, and social/quality of life." Public Interest Funding One final issue of concern that was raised was the belief that there is a lack of central government funding and overall policy direction that leads to inconsistency in applying the RMA on the local level. One specific concern is the importance of funding the involvement of public interest groups in the decision-making process. The RMA reform process currently underway is touching on this issue and has the potential to severely undermine the progress made to date by not recognizing the importance of public input. |
 This Takahe, previously believed to be extinct, is one of only 120 that exist in the world today. |
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| 4.0 Assessment and Conclusions
4.1 Reality Checks for the RMA
4.2 Opportunities for Future Success
4.3 Remaining Uncertainties
4.4 Conclusion During the past decade, New Zealand has started to take on the process of environmental policy reform, and the associated cultural changes, that other nations will be struggling with for years to come. The island nation clearly demonstrates the possibilities engendered by an integrated and comprehensive environmental management framework, yet highlights the need to be flexible and pragmatic when pursuing the path from ideology to practice. Overall, New Zealand's green planning process shows clarity of purpose, a holistic approach, and a functional applicability of the concept of sustainability. RRI will continue to monitor policy developments in New Zealand and report on these experiences in the future. |
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