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Proposed National Policy Statement on Indigenous Biodiversity

The Ministry for the Environment consulted publicly on the proposed National Policy Statement on Indigenous Biodiversity between January and May 2011. It received 426 submissions. The summary of submissions document is now available. This document summarises the submissions received, and presents the main issues and themes raised in the submissions.

The Ministry for the Environment is preparing a report and recommendations on the proposed National Policy Statement for the Minister for the Environment to consider. The Government intends to consider the report from the Waitangi Tribunal on claim 262 before finalising the NPS. Part of this claim relates to rights in respect to indigenous flora and fauna.


On this page

The proposed NPS on Indigenous Biodiversity sets out the Government's expectations for managing New Zealand's indigenous biodiversity under the Resource Management Act 1991.

Printed copies are available free of charge from the Ministry for the Environment (orders@mfe.govt.nz).

Section 32 report

The section 32 report evaluates the proposed NPS, as required under section 32 of the Resource Management Act 1991.

Printed copies are available free of charge from the Ministry for the Environment (orders@mfe.govt.nz).

Summary of submissions

This document summarises the submissions received, and presents the main issues and themes raised in the submissions.

Printed copies are not available.

About the proposed National Policy Statement

The proposed NPS is intended to provide clearer direction to local authorities on their responsibilities for managing indigenous biodiversity under the Resource Management Act 1991. It outlines policies and decision-making frameworks for the identification and management of indigenous biodiversity found outside the public conservation estate.

The proposed NPS contains a list of criteria for identifying areas of indigenous vegetation and habitats of indigenous animals that have been recognised as being rare and/or threatened at a national level. These criteria are based on the Government’s Statement of National Priorities for Protecting Rare and Threatened Biodiversity on Private Land. The proposed NPS requires district and relevant regional plans to identify these areas of significant biodiversity within five years of the NPS taking effect. 

Local authorities would be required to manage the effects of activities through district and regional plans and resource consent decisions (or be satisfied that effects are managed by other methods) to ensure there is no net loss of significant indigenous biodiversity.

The proposed NPS seeks to promote the maintenance of indigenous biodiversity while recognising the rights and responsibilities of landowners and the interests of Māori.

You can find out more about biodiversity here.

Background information, questions and answers

  • Regulatory Impact Statement prepared by the Ministry for the Environment considering various options for improving indigenous biodiversity on private land (PDF 1.7 MB / Word 120 KB).
  • Cabinet Paper: Proposed National Policy Statement on Indigenous Biodiversity: Proposal to release for public consultation (November 2010) seeking agreement to release the proposed NPS for public consultation (PDF, 2.27 MB). 
  • Cabinet Minute: Proposed National Policy Statement on Indigenous Biodiversity: Proposal to release for public consultation (December 2010)[CAB Min (10) 43/9] containing decisions on releasing the proposed NPS for public consultation (PDF, 172 KB).  
  • Questions and answers on the proposed NPS.

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Additional information relating to Policy 2

The following links contain information relating to the criteria in Policy 2 of the proposed NPS.

  • General information on Land Environments New Zealand (LENZ) data is available on the Landcare Research website.
  • LENZ Level IV data is available for free download from the Koordinates website.
  • The Threatened Environments Classification shows how much indigenous vegetation remains within land environments. This, “joined” with the LENZ Level IV polygons, will give an indication of what is captured by criteria 2d of the proposed NPS. Threatened environments data is available from the Landcare Research website.
  • Information on Naturally Uncommon Ecosystems (also known as “Historically Rare Ecosystems”) is available on the Landcare Research website.

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Contact for enquiries

Facsimile: +64 4 439 7700
Email: info@mfe.govt.nz
Postal: Biodiversity NPS, PO Box 10362, Wellington 6143

Media enquiries

Senior Advisor Media: +64 4 439 7791

 

Last updated: 3 August 2012