Vote for the Environment

- Environmental Charter 2002 -

K E Y C O M M I T M E N T S

The Groups consider the following key commitments and

vision and principles are fundamental to any political party's platform. (For detail see the Charter Chapters.)

Political parties should make the following commitments:

1. Ratify the Kyoto Protocol to the Framework Convention on Climate Change and adopt at least a 5% cut in 2008-2012 greenhouse gas emissions over 1990 levels.

2. Introduce a significant fiscally neutral carbon equivalence charge that should be applied at a rate greater than $30/tonne CO2 from 1 July 2004.

3. Provide at least $100 million in funding per year from 1 June 2003 to implement the National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy, the Waste Strategy and the Transport Strategy and other associated climate change measures.

4. Ensure the Oceans Policy process results in integrated legislation and processes that include robust public participation, environmental impact assessment, takes a precautionary approach, considers future life, avoid, remedies or mitigates adverse effects, and protects ecosystems, habitats and threatened species and facilitates marine reserves.

5. Increase baseline Department of Conservation funding by $210 million over 3 years, with priority given to threatened species, habitat protection and restoration, pastoral lease property purchases, animal pests and weed control, conservation advocacy, and marine conservation.

6. Protect New Zealand's indigenous biota and improve the condition and effectiveness of key conservation areas on the mainland by progressively controlling or eradicating animal or plant pests including:

i. Controlling possum numbers by 2005 to a level that maintains forest canopy and ensures the long-term survival of rare or threatened species.

ii. Controlling introduced browsing mammals including: eradicating wallaby and isolated and illegally released deer herds; eradicate thar in the central Southern Alps by 2010; and ensuring a sustained reduction of deer, goat and other browsing animal numbers elsewhere to levels low enough to allow the regeneration of key browsed species by 2010.

iii. Expansion of predator control (carried out together with possum, deer and goat control) to cover a national network of at least 30 "safe havens".

iv. Increase research effort and use results to implement sustained controls on mustelids and rats, especially during forest mast years.

v. Establish a mast year contingency fund that the Department of Conservation can draw on to substantially increase pest control efforts during mast years.

7. A legislated prohibition by June 2003 on importation, development or release beyond laboratory containment, of genetically manipulated organisms or viable GE material in the New Zealand environment.

8. Establish a Ministry of Marine Environmental Management and integrated legislation governing management of oceans which includes robust public participation, requires environmental impact assessment for fishing activity, takes a precautionary approach that considers future life, and which manages environmental effects, and protects threatened species.

9. Retain Government control and administration of fisheries management, research and enforcement, rather than devolving these functions to the fishing industry.

10. Extends the moratorium on marine farming in each region until:

a) there is adequate information to identify all areas of significant ecological value in the region's coastal marine area;

b) areas of natural character and high landscape, recreational and amenity value potentially affected by marine farming have been mapped;

c) the regional coastal plan has been reviewed to identify aquaculture management areas (AMA) in sites which would not impact significantly on ecological or other values or the healthy functioning of marine ecosystems.

11. Take urgent measures to protect West Coast North Island Hector's dolphin by banning set nets and limiting trawling in areas where the animal is found.

12. Ensure the Marine Reserves Bill is passed by March 2003 and includes measures which: extends the purposes of marine reserves to include education, recreation and protection of natural heritage and biodiversity values; extends coverage to the EEZ and Continental Shelf; removes the concurrence requirements of other ministers; bans mineral activity in reserves; and set a time period for decisions.

13. Provide safe refuges for marine life and enhance sustainable fisheries management by protecting 5% of New Zealand's marine area as no-take marine reserves by 2004, with 10% protected by 2010 and 20% by 2020.

14. Develop a Biosecurity Strategy that:

- Effectively controls and prevents new incursions.
- Acknowledges that the irreversibility of many pest invasions by adopting a precautionary approach to biosecurity and does not allow biosecurity to be compromised for trade purposes.

15. Oppose any amendments to the RMA that restrict the ability of the public to participate, or that reduce the quality of environmental management. In particular reject proposed changes to introduce limited notification and support proposals for appeals on non-notification to be considered by the Environment Court rather than the High Court.

16. Resolve Treaty of Waitangi grievances by using productive Crown resources (eg SOE land and other resources) in the settlement of Treaty claims. Conservation land should only be used in special circumstances (eg urupa and notable pa sites).

17. Support the development of a National Policy Statement by June 2003 on indigenous biodiversity under the Resource Management Act which provides clear direction to councils about how to maintain or restore biodiversity in their area.

18. Amend legislation to ensure that:

- Establishing a public process under the Conservation Act and the Crown Minerals Act for consideration of prospecting, exploration and mining applications on conservation land and adopt controls on mining consistent with the IUCN Resolution (2.82, 1999) on protected areas and mining.

- Ensure that conservation management strategies, plans, and policies prepared under the Conservation Act 1987 can bind management, including providing guidance on concessions and where these will not be approved.

19. Support the establishment of a Kaikoura National Park (by 2004) centred on existing conservation land in the Inland and Seaward Kaikoura Ranges

20. Review the management of the 180,476ha Crown owned and run Molesworth Station so that those areas with high inherent natural values and high recreational values together with those areas unsuitable to farming are consolidated into manageable areas for addition to the Conservation Estate.

21. Shift the emphasis of taxation away from expenditure and jobs and instead onto charges for environmentally damaging activities.

22. Require environmental and natural capital impact assessment and reporting of all public and medium and large-scale private entities.

23. Introduce a national Toxics Use and Release Inventory (TURI) by May 2005 with the goal of a 50% reduction in use and emissions by 2008.

24. Eliminate dioxin and other persistent organic pollutants (POPs) from anthropogenic sources in order to implement the Stockholm Convention by June 2005.

25. Remove the barriers to public participation and to provide financial assistance to empower communities and environmental groups to take part in resource management, fisheries, conservation and other formal processes. Funding of a minimum of $5 million/year should be provided to ensure adequate access to legal advice and representation, expert witnesses and research assistance.

26. Promote World Park or Antarctic Treaty Park status for Antarctica (which is the entire area south of 60oS) including a prohibition of fishing south of 60oS.

27. Support the listing of Patagonian and Antarctic Toothfish under Annexe II of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

28. Ensure that environmental protection is an over-riding constraint on trade and investment regulation and is incorporated into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) trade and investment rules.

29. Introducing traffic reduction targets (of 10% by 2008) as part of a national strategy.

30. Maintaining New Zealand's nuclear-free status and actively work towards a nuclear free Southern Hemisphere.