New Zealand’s environmental reporting system should not simply document environmental decline, it should require the government to say what it will do about it, says the Environmental Defence Society.

EDS has lodged its submission on the Environmental Reporting Amendment Bill.

“The Bill contains some genuinely useful improvements, but there are a few missing requirements,” says EDS Reform Director Dr Greg Severinsen.

“We can produce excellent reports showing that freshwater is declining, biodiversity is being lost or environmental limits are being breached. But unless someone is required to respond to those findings, reporting can become an exercise in documenting decline.

“We think the responsible Minister should be required to respond to each major environmental report with an action plan setting out what will be done, by when, and what results are expected.

“EDS is also calling for much stronger reporting on environmental limits proposed under new resource management legislation.

“Ultimately, environmental reporting needs to be about accountability.”

More: Greg Severinsen 021 585 951 greg@eds.org.nz

The EDS submission is here.