Approaching Sustainability: Integrated Environmental Management and New Zealand’s Resource Management Act prepared by Julie Frieder with funding from the sponsors of the Ian Axford New Zealand Fellowship in Public Policy December 1997 Approaching Sustainability: Integrated Environmental Management and New Zealand’s Resource Management Act © Ian Axford (New Zealand) Fellowships in Public Policy, 1997 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without prior permission. For permission, contact: Ian Axford (New Zealand) Fellowships in Public Policy P O Box 3465 Wellington New Zealand fax +64 4 499 5364 email
[email protected] TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE 3 ABSTRACT 4 INTRODUCTION 5 PART I. A LOOK AT THE REFORM 8 Economic Liberalisation 8 State Sector Reform 9 Local Government Reform 10 Cultural Reform: The Forgotten Sector 11 Resource Management Reform 12 PART II. INTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IN THEORY AND PRACTICE 15 THE THEORY 15 Resource Management Act 15 What is Integrated Environmental Management 17 Integrated Environmental Management under the RMA 19 Benefits of Integrated Environmental Management 20 THE PRACTICE 22 Case Study Methods 22 Taranaki Region 24 Auckland Region 31 Tasman District 38 PART III. GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE 43 Is Integrated Environmental Management Understood? 43 Is Integrated Environmental Management Happening? 45 Evidence of IEM in planning 45 Evidence of IEM in implementation 46 Evidence of IEM in monitoring 48 Drivers of Integrated Environmental Management 51 Barriers to Integrated Environmental Management 53 Recommendations 58 CONCLUSION 65 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 66 MORE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 68 BIBLIOGRAPHY 69 PREFACE Approaching Sustainability: Integrated Environmental Management and New Zealand’s Resource Management Act is written for anyone with an interest or a role in resource management in New Zealand.