31 October is World Cities Day and this year the focus is on Communities and Cities. The Day has a focus on cooperation among countries in meeting opportunities and addressing challenges of urbanization, and contributing to sustainable urban development around the world. Sustainable Development Goal 11, is the ambition...
A new review paper in Science magazine calls for ambitious goals for biodiversity. “Global biodiversity policy is at a crossroads. Recent global assessments of living nature and climate show worsening trends and a rapidly narrowing window for action.” None of the 20 Aichi targets for biodiversity it set in...
There are lots of environmental challenges ahead for the government. Climate change is one of the biggest ones. Urgent action is needed in a range of sectors to move New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions on a clear downward path. A review by the expert Climate Action Tracker (CAT) in...
At the RMLA/EDS seminar last night in Auckland, party spokespersons were asked about their environment policies. EDS chairman and the seminar moderator Gary Taylor says that whichever party leads the next government now has its key environment and conservation commitments on record. “The idea was to drill down beneath the...
The Climate Change Commission will be inviting submissions on its draft advice to government between Monday 1 February and midnight Sunday 16 March 2021. Ahead of the release of the draft advice, the commission wants to share as much of its thinking as it can, as early as it can....
New Directions for Resource Management in New Zealand is the most significant, broad ranging and inclusive review to take place within the system since the Resource Management Act came into force in 1991. The reform of the resource management system addresses significant pressures on both the natural and built environments....
The 2020 edition of Auckland’s Heritage Counts is now available here. The aim of Auckland’s Heritage Counts, started in 2018, is to highlight the variety and extent of Auckland’s heritage and the social/economic benefits these places have, by sharing up-to-date statistics and research each year. The document includes very clear...
Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga has added two Devonport homes to the New Zealand Heritage List Rārangi Kōrero as Category 2 historic places. “Lochiel and Considine House (former) are two visually prominent Devonport landmarks built at a time when Devonport was emerging as one of Auckland’s growing desirable suburbs,” says...
Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga has launched a toolkit to provide information and strategies encouraging the retention, preservation and reuse of heritage buildings. It is available online. The toolkit includes successful case studies from places such as s Napier, Auckland, Christchurch, Oamaru, Reefton, Whanganui, Dunedin and Invercargill. that have preserved...
A new film about Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg will be released on 16 October. Starting with her one-person school strike for climate action outside the Swedish Parliament, Swedish director Nathan Grossma follows Greta as she sparks school strikes around the world. The film culminates with her extraordinary wind-powered voyage...