Soil compaction affecting 75% of dairying lands, environmental report finds

The government's new national environmental reporting regime has kicked off with a benchmark report covering known data for five key areas, with highlighted findings including declining freshwater quality through intensively used land and three-quarters of all dairying land suffering from compaction.

The first report produced since the passage through the parliament last month of the Environmental Reporting Act collates all data available in 2013 to cover the environmental quality of New Zealand's freshwater, marine, atmosphere and climate, air, and land domains under three broad headings: pressure, state, and impact of both human and natural processes on the environment.

The report is compiled without ministerial intervention by Statistics New Zealand, which is statutorily independent, and the Ministry for the Environment.

Among the aims of the new reporting regime are to produce "environmental reports trusted by the public" to "move conversation away from debating data towards addressing environmental issues". Unlike some such regimes in other countries, the reports will not have a 'response' column, along with the pressure, state and impact measures.

A six monthly reporting cycle will be established, allowing each area to be updated triennially, and replacing previously published State of the Environment report, which was published infrequently, with the first freshwater report due next July.

A statement accompanying release of the 131-page benchmark document, highlighted three areas each of environmental improvement and deterioration found in the statistical series to 2013.

On the positive side, national statistics showed levels of carbon monoxide from transport has declined, "harmful emissions of air particles from burning wood and coal have declined", and that over-fishing and seabed trawling have declined, along with the bycatch of threatened species in commercial fishing operations.

Negatives highlighted were the fact that three-quarters of all soil on dairying land suffers from compaction, "water quality running through intensively used land has worsened", and the diversity and conservation status of some native species have declined.

The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Jan Wright, welcomed the first report under the new regime, which requires that she write a response to each report, following its publication, "to provide a further level of independence".

"I look forward to assessing this new report and I will publish my commentary once I have completed my examination," she said.

(BusinessDesk)