Our Environment
Our ambition is for New Zealand to be an environmentally informed nation taking action together.
As a nation, New Zealanders are proud of our clean, green image and aspire to lead the world by our example. This is tempered by an increasing awareness of just how fragile our world can be. To make real improvements in caring for the environment, we need reliable data and indicators, decision-making processes that account for the complexity and uncertainty surrounding our environment, and practical action.
New Zealand's economic development can only be sustained if industries and businesses operate in a resilient way within complex environmental limits. They also have to balance the needs of multiple and diverse stakeholders including national and local government, the private sector, Māori, and local communities. Recognising the importance of engaged decision-making, the work done by Manaaki Whenua is increasingly designed to support Māori, business and community groups to be a part of making decisions on the future uses of and values relating to our environment.
Part of caring for the environment is New Zealand’s commitment to meet its international greenhouse gas obligations. New Zealand will meet its responsibility targets through a mix of domestic emissions reductions, the removal of carbon dioxide by forests, and participation in international carbon markets. To achieve this, we will need a robust inventory of net emissions and carbon storage at a national scale, and appropriate mitigation tools. Our research focuses on measuring and modelling the environmental and economic impacts of emissions reduction, and developing effective mitigation options for reducing net emissions.