New plan for improving environment statistics

New plan for improving environment statistics – Media release

4 July 2013

A new plan for improving environment statistics has been created to help New Zealand get the information it needs about its environment, Statistics NZ said today.

The Environment domain plan 2013, which was released by Statistics NZ today, highlights the strengths and gaps in official information about New Zealand’s environment, and makes suggestions for improving it.

“The plan shows we have good information about land use and greenhouse gas emissions,” environment statistics manager Stephen Oakley said.

“However, it also revealed that we need better information about other aspects of our environment, such as our marine and coastal resources.

“We recognise the importance of quality information about our environment and how it is changing. Much of New Zealand’s economy depends on the natural environment, particularly agriculture and tourism. Improving environmental information will lead to more informed decision-making.”

Over 100 experts provided input into the plan, which required significant collaboration across central and local government, Māori, Crown research institutes, non-government organisations, and the private sector. The plan lays out their broad consensus on initiatives for improving environmental information over the next five to eight years.

This is the first domain plan for the environment sector. It was developed in partnership with the Ministry for the Environment and the Department of Conservation. Statistical domain plans are a tool for coordinating the collection of official statistics across government.

“The challenge now is to deliver on the aspirations expressed in the domain plan. Statistics NZ and key agencies will now focus on developing measures to improve the information about our natural resources,” Mr Oakley said.

For more information about these statistics:
Visit Environment Domain Plan 2013 

ENDS

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