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• Policy and Planning

Policy and Planning

Pine plantation

This objective focuses on providing a working template to enable integration and consideration of multiple ecosystem serivices (ES) into planning and policy decisions and reporting protocols. It will comprise a series of steps for decision-makers in New Zealand to consider as they are making planning and policy decisions (e.g., regional plans or central government environmental legislation) or reporting protocols. It will also contain pointers (internet) to existing relevant data and models. A case study approach will be used to demonstrate its applicability to decision-making processes.

Policy and Planning comprises three parts:

1. Ecosystem services tools and frameworks:

We will examine currently available end-user tools/frameworks and assess their ability to incorporate an ES approach in decision-making processes (e.g., National Policy Statements, LTCCP and regional planning). We will explore Māori perspectives on resource management and co-management to understand how they may be incorporated into ES decision-making processes.

2. Working template:

Based on the information gathered in Conditions and Trends and in our first goal, the Future scenarios developed, and existing Landcare Research economic modelling capability, we will design a ‘proof-of-concept’ system for incorporating an ES approach into decision-making processes. This will include the expansion of a non-urban enviro-economic model to assess the implications of regional policy options on ES.This system will be reality-tested using a case-study.

3. National Statement on ecosystem services:

We will develop a National Statement on ES and the validity of the ecosystem serivices approach for use in regional/ national/ international planning, policy and reporting negotiations. The National Statement will:

• identify those ES at greatest risk nationally and regionally
• document the baseline conditions for each of the tier 2 & 3 ES
• provide methods that permit routine and consistent assessment of ES over time
• make recommendations on how the ES approach can be used more broadly for regional, national and international planning and policy decisions.