It is based on a comparison with previous reports, analysis of more than 60 indicators and new methods.
It found native plants, animals and ecosystems are under threat, changes to land vegetation are degrading soil and water, farming is polluting our waterways and water use affects freshwater ecosystems.
Urban centres create environmental pollution with urban sprawl occupying the best soils and destroying native biodiversity, it said.
And commercial fishing techniques are detrimental to the ocean environment, greenhouse gas emissions per person are among the highest in the developed world and climate change is already having and effect.
It said development and associated economic growth supports living standards with agriculture contributing 4.2% of gross domestic product and employing 122,000 people while forestry generates $1.7 billion and jobs for 6000 people.
A focus of the report is the impact of urban growth, a topic covered in depth by Farmers Weekly in February and March, and the environmental impact of urban living.
Urban centres occupy 228,000ha, less than 1% of NZ’s land area, and are home to 86% of the population.
But it warns urban sprawl is soaking up top-class soils, which represent just 5% of all soil, and adversely affecting native biodiversity.
Most urban centres occupy high-quality soils on fertile, coastal flood plains cut out of native forest and drained wetlands.
Urban areas grew 10% between 1996 and 2012 and from 1990 to 2008 29% of that growth was on high class soils.
On average 5800 new lifestyle blocks are subdivided on the fringes of urban centres each year and a 2013 study found 35% of Auckland’s best soil is on lifestyle blocks.
“Our versatile land and high-class soils are gradually being lost to urban growth, making them unavailable for growing food,” the report said.
“The loss of versatile land is happening at the same time as our food production system is under pressure to increase production without increasing its effect on the environment.
“This loss can force growers onto more marginal land that is naturally less productive and requires more inputs, like fertiliser.”
Urban waterways are more polluted than rural areas and have heavy metals and higher concentrations of E coli.
The report found 94% of river length in urban areas is unsuitable for swimming and pollutants may affect sensitive aquatic species and encourage algal growth.
It noted urban air pollution has decreased.
Farming and urban expansion threatens ecosystems and biodiversity in marine and fresh water and land environments while the removal of native forests, draining wetlands and clearing land for farming has caused the loss of soil.
In 2012 just over half NZ’s land had modified land cover such as urban areas and exotic vegetation.
Exotic pasture species cover 40% of NZ’s land area and exotic forestry 8%, concentrated in the central North Island.
About 100 dams generate 60% of NZ’s electricity but the disrupted flow, loss of native forests, shrub lands and wetlands affects water flow, the natural flushing of rivers and streams, recreation, carbon storage, the purifying of water and habitats for native species.
It also leads to erosion with studies showing 44% of soil that enters waterways comes from pasture land.
NZ has the second highest volume of water take per person in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development with 51% of all consented water used for irrigation.
Demand for water doubled between 2002 and 2017 because of irrigation growth, primarily in Canterbury.
The report also looks at climate change saying that while NZ is a small contributor to global emissions (0.17% in 2013) its emissions per person are high relative to international measures.
At 17.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per person, NZ is ranked fifth of the 43 industrialised countries.
NZ’s gross greenhouse gas emissions have risen 20% since 1990 but have been relatively stable in the last decade despite the economic and population growth.
“This means our emissions per person are lower now than 10 years ago.
“Similarly, our emissions per unit of gross domestic product since 1990 are 43% but still high internationally, the fourth highest in the OECD in 2016,” it said.
