Latest report on New Zealand’s freshwater environment released today
The Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ have released the latest instalment of environmental reporting on the state of New Zealand’s freshwater – Our freshwater 2020.
The report provides further evidence that New Zealand’s freshwater is impacted by urban development, farming, forestry and other human activities. It highlights how climate change is set to make the issues faced by our freshwater environments even worse.
The report presents the four most pressing issues facing freshwater environments:
- Threats to native species and habitats
- Pollution in urban, farming and forestry areas
- Changing water flows
- The impact of climate change
Our freshwater 2020 builds on the information presented in previous reports but goes deeper on the issues affecting freshwater in New Zealand. This includes new insights on the health of freshwater ecosystems, heavy metals in urban streams, consented water takes, and expected changes due to climate change.
The data and analysis presented in the report are tools to help guide decisions about freshwater use and ecosystem conservation.
The report, summary report, and supporting materials are available on the environmental reporting section of the Ministry for the Environment website.
The Our freshwater 2020 indicators and apps that help explain the findings and provide context are available on the Stats NZ website.