Environment Aotearoa 2019
Environment Aotearoa 2019, is part of the Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ’s legislated environmental reporting programme.Every six months they produce a report focused on a different ‘domain’ – air, freshwater, marine, atmosphere and climate, and land.Every three years they produce a ‘synthesis’ report – bringing together the data and findings from across the domain reports to help us step inside and view our environment as a whole, in all its complexity.The report brings together the knowledge base from three years of reporting and identifies nine priority issues:
- Our native plants, animals and ecosystems are under threat.
- Changes to the vegetation on our land are degrading the soil and water.
- Urban growth is reducing versatile land and native biodiversity.
- Our waterways are polluted in farming areas.
- Our environment is polluted in urban areas.
- Taking water changes flows which affects our freshwater ecosystems.
- The way we fish is affecting the health of our ocean environment.
- New Zealand has high greenhouse gas emissions per person.
- Climate change is already affecting Aotearoa New Zealand.