Environmental Package
Several projects have been approved as part of a recently announced $2.3 million 'environmental initiatives package'. The money comes from the 'green issues fund' agreed between the Government and the Green Party at the time of the Budget in June.
Parts of the package include:
- Environmental Legal Aid Scheme. Up to $20,000 would be made available to non-profit environmental community groups (including iwi and hapu organisations) who are presenting cases to the Environment Court.
- Public Participation in Planning. Money is to be made available for advisory, information and education services to help members of the public when they first become involved in a planning issue. Help could include seminars, information resources and community web pages, and a register of lawyers, planners and experts willing to donate service to environmental groups.
- Supporting Environmental Centres. This scheme makes grants available to support existing environment centres, or to establish new ones where needed. An environment centre is a place accessible to the public that provides information on a wide range of environmental information, and is available for environmental groups to meet.
- Reducing Pesticide Use. The Ministry for the Environment - along with industry and other government departments - will begin work in early 2001 on a pesticide reduction strategy. This will build on past and current efforts by industry and MAF.
- Non-Financial Reporting. This part focuses on encouraging and enabling private and public sector organisations to adopt methods of social and environmental reporting, or 'triple bottom line' reporting. It is felt that current corporate reporting practices - that overwhelmingly focus on financial matters - are not compatible with the Government's commitment to sustainable development - which emphasises social and environmental outcomes as well as those that are financial or economic.
- National 'Environmental Accounts'. The Ministry for the Environment will do work on national environmental accounts to better take account of the environmental effects of economic activity on the environment, and more clearly identify sustainable national income.
| Some of the above schemes should be operating by early February and will be administered by the Ministry for the Environment. For more information contact Karl Ferguson, Communications Advisor, MfE, PO Box 10 362, Wellington, tel (04) 917 7400, fax (04) 917 7523 |
Contact for Enquiries
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Pastoral House
25 The Terrace
PO Box 2526, Wellington
Tel: 0800 00 83 33
Fax: +64 4 894 0720
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