Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2000
1 October 2000
The year saw the release of three major systems issues reports and one environmental management audit. The systems issues included an overview of marine environmental management, a review of energy efficiency and renewable energy and a discussion paper on urban water/wastewater matters. The audit was of local government environmental management by unitary authorities - a study undertaken jointly with the Office of the Auditor-General.
I would like to highlight a few common themes:
- the lack of strategic direction and shared vision for many areas of resource management and utilisation
- the poor state of our knowledge about our biotic world and our ability to utilise it in decision-making
- the issue of whose knowledge or information is trusted
A feature of citizens' concerns of the last two years has been the number arising in districts where there are urban and peri-urban growth pressures.