Government biodiversity work programme
Government initiatives to protect biodiversity in Aotearoa New Zealand.
MfE and the Department of Conservation are developing a National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity (NPSIB).
The NPSIB will set out objectives, policies and implementation requirements to manage natural and physical resources to maintain indigenous biodiversity under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA).
The NPSIB will fill a significant gap in the way we manage our biodiversity. It will provide national direction and guidance to local councils on how to improve biodiversity management across the country.
It will apply across public and private land including terrestrial ecosystems and (in part) wetlands. It includes the management of biodiversity on private land where many of our threatened species, habitats, and ecosystems are found.
Consultation held on the NPSIB
Public consultation and hui on the proposed NPSIB was held in 2019 and 2020.
See Proposed NPSIB for more information on the 2019-2020 consultation.
In June 2022 Associate Minister for the Environment (Biodiversity), Hon James Shaw, released an exposure draft of the NPSIB for targeted consultation.
The purpose of the exposure draft was to test the workability of the NPSIB provisions with key groups. It incorporated feedback from the public consultation and hui held in 2019 and 2020.
The targeted consultation on the exposure draft closed on 21 July. Officials will now analyse submissions and feedback. Policy change recommendations will be provided to Minister Shaw for decisions before the final policy goes to Cabinet to consider for gazettal.
Implementation support is critical to the success of the NPSIB. Officials continue to work on support measures that will sit alongside the national direction to ensure that iwi/Māori, landowners, councils and other stakeholders are assisted to protect our indigenous biodiversity.
The draft implementation plan, released alongside the exposure draft, outlines some of the existing and proposed new measures to support implementation.
Te Mana o te Taiao (launched in August 2020) sets out a strategic framework for the protection, restoration and sustainable use of biodiversity, particularly indigenous biodiversity, in Aotearoa New Zealand, from 2020 to 2050.
Find out more about Te Mana o te Taiao [Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai website]