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This paper aims to understand the practice of SEA in the urban development sector in New Zealand. In New Zealand, SEA has been practiced over the last two decades under the Resource Management Act (RMA) of 1991. Given this legal context, the SEA process of a major urban plan was evaluated against a set of procedural criteria. The results indicate that the SEA has, in general, fulfilled key procedural requirements, albeit with a few shortcomings. The shortcomings include absence of cumulative impacts, inadequate baseline information, inadequate mitigation and monitoring. The possible causes of the shortcomings are explained. This study also explored some key features of SEA practice in New Zealand that may influence SEA practice. Finally, recommendations are made for improvement of SEA practice in New Zealand with future directions. The findings of this study can be useful to SEA for urban planning in New Zealand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the frustrating reality of sustainability implementation in the USA and New Zealand (NZ), an early adopter of sustainability mandates. Local government has a key role in implementation, but has been slow to uptake sustainable practices. We surveyed senior planners in small to medium-sized local government agencies in both countries to identifywhichfeatures of local government support (or hinder) sustainability in practice. Environmentally sustainable practices are not well entrenched in either country. In the USA, the framing of sustainability and public support are significant predictors of implementation. However, sustainability is rarely a priority. In NZ, local government capacity is the main driver of implementation. We recommend that planners promote sustainability values, reconcile economic development goals with sustainability (e.g., green economy model), and translate public support for sustainability into institutional priorities. NZ localities also need increased capacity and US localities need continued Federal and State support. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Globally, the issue of energy use and climate change is at the forefront of many national and international agendas, and also an issue central to children's lives and well-being. This paper examines how children are both affected by and contribute to the problems associated with unsustainable energy use as it relates to the growth of car dependent lives. The paper presents the findings of a study of travel as it relates to the everyday lives of children in the city of Dunedin in New Zealand. The study found that children currently lead complex car dependent lives. This extensive car reliance presents a serious and largely unrecognised challenge to the sustainable planning and management of the urban environment. The move towards more sustainable transportation can bring benefits for both the environment and for children's lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a systems model to address the need for a stakeholder analysis tool in the environmental planning and management literature. It captures the dynamic and complex nature of environmental conflicts. This is developed using the system dynamics methodology and is applied to a New Zealand case, the Transmission Gully motorway project. Experiments conducted using the model showed that although the proposed Transmission Gully motorway is capable of easing traffic congestion in the short term, it will not reduce traffic congestion in the long term. Policy and scenario experiments conducted using the model revealed that policies aimed at reducing traffic congestion could also reduce the conflict between stakeholders; however, they showed some counter-intuitive behaviour in the system which highlighted the complexity of the problem situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The moniker of 'clean and green' has been popularly applied to New Zealand since the 1980s. Following the 1991 Resource Management Act, New Zealand was also heralded as a progressive nation in terms of its environmental policy. While both the greenness and progressiveness have subsequently been questioned, the formation, implementation and impact of environmental management has rarely been analysed from an explicit governance perspective. Environmental governance analyses are useful because they permit attention to the multitude of actors operating at a range of scales. In response, this paper examines one significant sector of environmental management in New Zealand - waste. Initially key policies and programmes shaping the waste landscape are considered, then consideration is given to the roles that public, private and civil society sectors play in forming and reforming that landscape. Finally, the performance of governing actors and the practice of governance are brought together in a critical appraisal of waste governance outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy makers, economists and water researchers have advocated water transfer and trade as a key potential response to worldwide water scarcity and/or efficiency problems. This paper examines aspects of an operational irrigation scheme in New Zealand that enables transfer of water between shareholders, arguing that the set-up and processes involved with the scheme can provide a wider context for analysis and consideration of social and cultural issues involved with resource allocation. Analysis of the key drivers and barriers for water reveal that while there is potential for real benefits from transferring water for farmers and the community, an examination of some of the processes used, and barriers to transfer reveals important lessons for planning and regulatory perspectives, including the importance of looking at the issues from a procedural and distributive justice viewpoint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses the concept of 'governance' and the related notion of 'multi-layered' forest management decision making as an overarching framework for analysis of conflict between different stakeholder groups with contrasting perceptions about 'appropriate' use of indigenous forests in a New Zealand case study. In New Zealand, recent institutional reforms inspired by neo-liberal policy agendas have led to substantial conflicts between segments of society over the 'appropriate' governance of remnant indigenous forests. This study focuses on the West Coast Forest Accord (WCFA) as an illustration of the attempt to change governance structures of indigenous forest management by re-regulating the indigenous forest industry. It is argued that by seeking to accommodate multiple stakeholder interests, in particular industry, community and environmental groups, the WCFA was doomed to fail, as multiple, and often conflicting, stakeholder agendas focused on the goal of 'sustainable management' of indigenous forests could no longer be reconciled. Notwithstanding the shift in emphasis from government towards governance in the recent literature, the study findings confirm a continuing strong role by the state as an actor in the forestry sector in New Zealand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]