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About the Ministry for the Environment
Our vision and mission
Our vision is for a prosperous New Zealand where a healthy environment enhances social and economic wellbeing.
Our mission is environmental stewardship for a prosperous New Zealand – tiakina te taiao kia tōnui a Aotearoa.
You can find out more about how we are working to fulfil this vision and mission in our:
Our role
The environment supports New Zealand’s economy through our use of natural resources. At the same time, the health of the environment is affected by the way every New Zealander behaves.
The Ministry is the Government's principal adviser on the environment in New Zealand and on international matters that affect the environment.
As the Ministry for the Environment is not involved in day-to-day environmental management, we focus on providing:
- environmental management systems, including laws, regulations and national environmental standards
- national direction through national policy statements and strategies
- guidance and training on best practice
- information about the health of the environment.
Our work
The outcomes we are working towards are that:
- New Zealand’s air, water, land and built communities are healthy
- New Zealand is able to capitalise on its natural environmental advantages
- New Zealand’s natural resources are managed effectively and New Zealanders use resources sustainably
- risks to people, the economy and the environment from pollution, contamination and other environmental hazards are minimised.
Find more about our work priorities
Our legislative environment
The Ministry was established under the Environment Act 1986. We also have specific functions under the:
- Resource Management Act 1991
- Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996
- Ozone Layer Protection Act 1996
- Climate Change Response Act 2002
In addition to our policy advice and implementation activities, we also:
- administer government funding for grants under the Sustainable Management Fund
- administer the Environmental Legal Assistance Fund
- administer the Crown Contaminated Sites Remediation Fund
- monitor the performance of the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA) on behalf of the Minister, which makes decisions on applications to introduce hazardous substances and new organisms to New Zealand.
More information
You can find out more about the Ministry and its work on the following pages.
- The context in which we work
- The Natural Resources Sector
- Working at the Ministry and current vacancies
- Our environmental policy statement
- Responsible ministers
- Other New Zealand agencies with environmental interests
Last updated: 29 June 2009
