Human Activity Threatens New Zealand’s Natural Environment

New Zealand, a land renowned for its natural wonders, boasts a diverse landscape that spans from the North Island to the South Island. Its pristine beaches, tranquil lakes, and majestic mountains offer a sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of urban life, making it a haven for those seeking respite in the lap of nature.

New Zealand’s natural environment underpins its economy in many ways. Its primary production sectors, the basis of the country’s export economy, depend on healthy land and soil. However, the country’s pursuit of economic growth and development compromises its quality.

Land use changes mainly from the expansion of land area used for farming and commercial forest, urban intensification, and “grey” infrastructure growth; adverse effects from pollution, climate change, and invasive species are degrading the country’s natural environment.

The Ministry for the Environment (MfE) ‘s ‘Our Land 2024’ report extensively explores the current state of New Zealand’s natural assets and infrastructure. It provides invaluable insights into the benefits of these assets and how human activities are exerting pressure on them, making it a crucial resource for understanding and addressing our environmental challenges.

The ‘Our Land 2024′ report, the latest instalment in a series of environmental reports jointly produced by the Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ, is a comprehensive update on New Zealand’s natural assets and infrastructure. It builds on the 2018 and 2021 reports’ findings and provides a fresh perspective on the country’s evolving environmental challenges.

The report details the effects of human activities on our diverse ecosystems and the cascading impacts of our land-use choices. It examines the pressures on the land and its cascading impact on the economy, resilience to disasters, and cultural, mental, and physical health.

A key theme of the “Our Land 2024” report is that when we care for and conserve nature and its ecosystems, we care for ourselves. The report uses the term’ natural infrastructure’ to describe natural or semi-natural structural elements of ecosystems and landscapes that benefit the environment and human well-being.

However, when people allow the degradation of their natural environment, it comes at a high cost: reduced productivity, lower resilience to disasters, and increased damages and recovery costs.

Finding the solutions

The report points out that New Zealand understands the pressures it has placed on the environment. It provides examples of the actions that the country takes to restore it.

According to the report, “the choices we make today about how we manage our relationship with land are also central to improving outcomes for our freshwater and marine environments and mitigating climate change. The solutions that lie in our natural infrastructure can help us adapt to a future where we are exposed to more frequent natural hazards that pose a threat to our physical security, well-being, and economic prosperity.”

If there is something crucial to building a safer and more prosperous future for us all, it is recognising the value that nature provides and the full range of benefits we receive from healthy, functioning ecosystems.

The report says, “We all have a role to play in shaping our environmental future, and we hope the evidence in “Our Land 2024″ helps you understand the challenges and take part in the solutions.”