Improving data on land use and land cover

Land use and land cover, and changes in land use and cover, are important drivers of environmental change. We need good maps of land use and cover and their changes over time to base decisions on and to use in calculations of other changes such as greenhouse gas emissions.  

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The Ministry for the Environment is working collaboratively to improve data on land use and land use change. We want to understand:

  • the types of land use and land cover
  • how and where land use and land cover are changing.

This supports environmental reporting, policy development and evaluation and advice to decision-makers. 

The Ministry funds projects on land use and land cover mapping, including: 

  • The Land Cover Database which uses satellite imagery to produce maps of New Zealand’s land cover approximately every 5 years since 1996/97. 
  • An updated Land Use Classification which provides consistent names and descriptions for different land uses in New Zealand View the New Zealand land use map.
  • A National Environmental Monitoring Standard (NEMS) for indigenous cover which sets out a consistent method for monitoring and reporting indigenous land cover. 
  • Reviews into the national protected areas database (PAN-NZ) which collates the extent and type of various legal protections on land. 
  • Ecosystem typology developments