A review of the reporting system Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton identifies huge gaps in data and knowledge and calls for concerted action to improve the system.
He says the data gaps, along with inconsistent data collection and analysis, make it hard to construct a clear national picture of the state of the environment – and whether it is getting better or worse.
“Huge gaps in data and knowledge bedevil our understanding. This is in stark contrast with our economy, where we are much more reliably informed.”
Added to that the reporting system is fragmented, with multiple pieces of legislation creating a mosaic of requirements with unclear responsibilities across organisations, he says.
“We can’t make economically efficient or socially fair environmental rules if we can’t measure authoritatively what’s happening to the physical resource base on which our wellbeing ultimately depends.”
To say NZ has a national reporting system overstates its coherence, he says.
“Ours has been a passive system that has harvested whatever data is there and done the best it can to navigate what’s missing. In my judgment what there is, is clearly inadequate.
“New Zealand lacks consistent, authoritative timeseries data and comprehensive spatial coverage. For example, the last national survey of land cover was taken in 2012 – how can policymakers make decisions using seven-year-old data?”
Upton is not calling for an overhaul of the system. He says it would be better to build on the efforts of the Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ who already produce reports on the environment.
His recommendations include amending the Environmental Reporting Act so it has a clearer purpose, establishing a standing science advisory panel and developing core environmental indicators to form the backbone of reporting.
The Government should be required to make a formal response to state of the environment reports.
To improve the evidence base underpinning the environmental reporting system Upton recommends developing a comprehensive, nationally co-ordinated monitoring system and has called for a mandated strategy to prioritise and incrementally fill gaps.
He says improvements to the system will require serious investment and he recommends the Ministers of Finance, the Environment and Stastics work out the level of investment required.
