Environment Aotearoa 2019

1 Environment Aotearoa 2019 . new zealand 's Environmental Reporting Series Crown copyright Disclaimer Unless otherwise stated, this copyright work is licensed for re-use While all care and diligence has been used in processing, analysing, under a Creative Commons Attribution International licence. Except and extracting data and information for this publication, the Ministry for any photographs, in essence, you are free to copy, distribute, and for the Environment , Stats NZ, and the data providers give no warranty adapt the work, as long as you attribute the work to the new zealand in relation to the report or data used in the report including its accuracy, Government and abide by the other licence terms. To view a copy of this reliability, and suitability and accept no liability whatsoever in relation licence, visit Creative Commons Attribution International licence.

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3 Published in April 2019 by Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ. Publication number: ME 1416. If you publish, distribute, or otherwise disseminate this work (or any part of it) to the public without adapting it the following attribution statement ISSN: 2382-0179 (online). should be used: ISSN: 2463-3038 (print). ISBN: 978-1-98-857913-9 (online). Source: Ministry for the Environment , Stats NZ, and data providers, ISBN: 978-1-98-857914-6 (print). and licensed by the Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ for re- use under the Creative Commons Attribution International licence. Cover photo: Whangaruru Harbour, Northland. Credit: photonewzealand If you adapt this work in any way, or include it in a collection, and publish, distribute, or otherwise disseminate that adaptation or collection to the public, the following attribution statement should be used: This work uses material sourced from the Ministry for the Environment , Stats NZ, and data providers, which is licensed by the Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ for re-use under the Creative Commons Attribution International licence.

4 Where practicable, please hyperlink the name of the Ministry for the Environment or Stats NZ to the Ministry for the Environment or Stats NZ web page that contains, or links to, the source data. 03. Contents Message to our readers 04. Part 1 About Environment Aotearoa 2019 05. Aotearoa new zealand 06. Background to this report 07. A whole system approach 08. A focus on what matters 10. Part 2 Themes and issues 11. Theme 1 Our ecosystems and biodiversity 12. Issue 1 Our native plants, animals, and ecosystems are under threat 14. Theme 2 How we use our land 28. Issue 2 Changes to the vegetation on our land are degrading the soil and water 30. Issue 3 Urban growth is reducing versatile land and native biodiversity 40. Theme 3 Pollution from our activities 44. Issue 4 Our waterways are polluted in farming areas 46.

5 Issue 5 Our Environment is polluted in urban areas 63. Theme 4 How we use our freshwater and marine resources 72. Issue 6 Taking water changes flows which affects our freshwater ecosystems 74. Issue 7 The way we fish is affecting the health of our ocean Environment 83. Theme 5 Our changing climate 90. Issue 8 new zealand has high greenhouse gas emissions per person 92. Issue 9 Climate change is already affecting Aotearoa new zealand 98. Part 3 Towards a better understanding of our Environment 105. Understanding our Environment 106. Features of the Environment 106. Making informed decisions 107. The knowledge system and environmental reporting 108. Strengthening our knowledge and reporting systems 109. Glossary, Domain reports, Environmental indicators, and Acknowledgements 111.

6 Glossary 112. Domain reports 112. Environmental indicators 112. Acknowledgements 113. References 114. 04 Environment Aotearoa 2019 new zealand 's Environmental Reporting Series . Message to our readers We are proud to present Environment Aotearoa 2019 , our three-yearly report on the state of the Environment in new zealand . Our ministries work together to produce environmental We believe now is the time to engage in conversations as reports every six months, focussed on a domain such as air, a country about what we value, what consequences we are marine, or land. This report, by contrast, takes a broader prepared to accept, and the kind of country we want our view of the Environment as a whole by reporting on nine children and mokopuna to inherit. Environment Aotearoa priority issues for us in 2019 .

7 The issues typically involve 2019 will add value to those conversations. more than one domain. The report also points out how much we don't know To identify the nine issues, our scientists and data analysts about many aspects of our Environment . While we have reviewed the most recent domain reports and worked with considerable knowledge in many areas, understanding our an independent, expert science panel. Environment as a whole and its many interactions is a much bigger challenge. Environment Aotearoa 2019 suggests The data and science presented in the report is up to some steps that could be taken to improve our knowledge and date, fully explained, and rigorously checked to the highest reporting system so we are better equipped to understand standards. The information is factual and trustworthy, the effects of our actions, and what we need to do about it.

8 And links to the analysis and data sources are provided throughout the report. Whatever your interest or connection to the Environment , we trust that reading this report or its summary will support Taken together, the issues clearly show that the choices you to ask questions and be empowered in conversations we have made about the way we live and make a living about how to enjoy, protect, and prosper in our Aotearoa are having a significant impact on our Environment and new zealand . therefore on the things we value. They highlight areas where we need to pay close attention. Choosing and making appropriate responses to the issues is not straightforward: the new zealand economy has been built on our Environment , our population continues to grow, and climate change is amplifying many current Vicky Robertson Liz MacPherson pressures.

9 These are complex challenges that require Secretary for the Government serious consideration. Environment Statistician 05. PAR T 1. About Environment Aotearoa 2019 . This part of the report sets the scene and explains the approach including how the nine priority issues were chosen. Scope, context, and governing legislation are also presented here. Photo credit: photonewzealand 06 Environment Aotearoa 2019 new zealand 's Environmental Reporting Series Aotearoa new zealand The green of a k k p Our land and sea are unique and very special, having evolved so distinctly and separately from the rest of the feather, scarlet p hutukawa, world. From the time our ancestors first stepped onto its shores, the land of the long white cloud has provided summer cicada song, and a nourishment, protection, and resources to its inhabitants.

10 People have become part of the Environment and shaped dolphin's silver flash these it, modifying the land to grow food, building houses, and are the colours and sounds establishing settlements, roads, and infrastructure. The relationship and connection we have with the of our Aotearoa new zealand . Environment goes well beyond the goods and services we receive from it, like food, fuel, and clean water. Our Environment is where we stand, our t rangawaewae . where we live, learn, work and earn a living, play, and socialise. It is our home and our identity, and the foundation of our national culture and tradition. As tangata whenua people of the land M ori have a distinct and special connection to the land. M ori identity, well-being, knowledge, and language systems, and the ways the culture is nourished, are indivisible from the health of Papat nuku, the Earth Mother.