Kia ora mai tatou our New Zealand greeting

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Kia ora mai tatou our New Zealand greeting
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Environmental Justice Sustainable Development
New Zealands Environment Court

• Marlene Oliver
• Environment Commissioner
• Environment Court of New Zealand.
• Presented to UNEP, Asia Pacific Conference on
  Environmental Justice and Enforcement, Bangkok,
  14 - 16 January 2008.

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Conference Theme Environmental Justice and
Sustainable Development

• Bandung Roadmap (2006) - one recommendation
• Promote the development of mechanisms to
  facilitate the prevention and peaceful settlement
  of environmental disputes, including the use of
  arbitration, environmental court and other
  practical dispute resolution mechanisms

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Sustainable Development labels

• Interdependence and integration both of, and
  within the environmental, social and economic
  components
• Intergenerational equity between present and
  future generations
• Intra-generational equity between todays
  people, between rich and poor
• Interspecies responsibility for protecting the
  global environment, the human and the non-human

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Sustainable Development labelscontd

• Precautionary principle
• Polluter-pays principle
• Information, education and participation
  empowerment and capacity building
• International relations environmental issues
  are borderless and may involve more than one stat

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Role of the Environment

• The environment is not just one of the pillars,
  it is the foundation of sustainable development.

E o
Environment
E
Society
Economy
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International Environmental Law

• Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs)
• Sovereignty is at the core
• Effective national (domestic) legislation,
  policies and practices are essential

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Implementing sustainability

• The complexity of sustainability requires a suite
  of actions and measures a tool box
• The tools need to be tailor-made - relevant to
  local context and targeted
• Some aspects of NZs practical experience may be
  transferable to the global community

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Some of NZs tools

• Key environmental statute - the Resource
  Management Act 1991
• Specialist Environment Court
• The Courts active case management system
• The Courts use of court-annexed mediation

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New Zealand World context
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New Zealand - economy
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New Zealand Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA)

• Single, integrated resource management statute
  relating to the use of land, air and water.
• The Acts purpose is to promote the sustainable
  management of natural and physical resources.

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Sustainable management

• means managing the use, development, and
  protection of natural and physical resources in a
  way, or at a rate, which enables people and
  communities to provide for their social,
  economic, and cultural wellbeing and for their
  health and safety while -
• a)Sustaining the potential of natural and
  physical resources (excluding minerals) to meet
  the reasonably foreseeable needs of future
  generations and
• b)Safeguarding the life-supporting capacity of
  air, water, soil and ecosystems and
• c)Avoiding, remedying, or mitigating any adverse
  effects of activities on the environment.

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Resource Management Act

• Regulates use, development and protection of
  land, air and water
• Crown is bound
• Strong themes devolution, consultation and
  public participation
• First-instance decisions by local councils
• Broad right of appeal to Environment Court

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New Zealand Courts
Supreme Court
Court of Appeal
High Court
Maori Appellate Court
District Court
Maori Land
Environment
Employment
Courts Martial Appeal Court
Tribunals Authorities
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Environment Court of New Zealand

• Specialist circuit court
• Principal Environment Judge, 10 Environment
  Judges, 21 Environment Commissioners
• De novo hearings
• Inquiry - not constrained by rules of evidence
  or procedure
• Open to the public, relatively informal
• Appeals to higher courts only on questions of
  law, not facts

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RMA definitions

• Natural and physical resources
• land, water, air, soil, minerals and energy,
  all forms of plants and animals (whether native
  to New Zealand or introduced), and all
  structures.

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Environment Court - cases

• 2006/2007 1142 new registrations, 1073 disposed
  of. Outstanding caseload at 30 June 2007 1463
• Only about 1 of the 50,000 resource consents
  (permits) processed by councils each year are
  appealed
• Appealed cases usually of significance and
  involve matters of public interest

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Environment Court

• Case management system
• Standard
• Complex
• Parties Hold

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Environment Court-Annexed ADR and Mediation

• The Act (RMA) empowers the Court to arrange ADR
  and mediation
• Environment Commissioners conduct mediations
• Practice Note flexible procedures
• Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
• Draft consent order lodged with the Court

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Environment Court - cases mediated

• 1993 6 court-assisted mediations
• 2006/2007 449 court mediation events
• Total number of cases mediated is higher
• Estimated 80 of mediated cases are resolved

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Environment Court types of cases mediated

• Statutory policy and plan documents
• (multiple sessions, more than 50 people)
• Resource consents (permits)
• Enforcement proceedings

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Mediation Examples

• Lime rock quarry in a rural area (5 parties, 18
  people)
• Geothermal power station (5 parties, 25 people)
• Urban land subdivision (7 parties, 20 people)
• Residential development (3 parties, 8 people)
• Redevelopment of historic building (3 parties,
• 10 people)

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To summarise

• The environment (natural resources) the
  foundation of sustainable development
• Sustainability- based decision-making is complex
  and challenging requires a suite of measures
  and tools a tool box

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Summary contd

• Environmental issues are borderless, yet
  sovereignty is at the core of international
  environmental law
• Individual countries have responsibility and
  authority to take action to implement
  sustainability
• New Zealand
• 16 years ago - Resource Management Act 1991
• Specialist Environment Court uses active case
  management and court-annexed mediation as part of
  the tool box for sustainability-based
  decision-making

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Concluding Comment

• New Zealands experience provides some practical
  mechanisms which can be transferred, with
  appropriate adaptation, to other countries
  consistent with the Bandung Roadmap
  recommendation to
• Promote the development of mechanisms to
  facilitate the prevention and peaceful settlement
  of environmental disputes, including the use of
  arbitration, environmental court and other
  practical dispute resolution mechanisms
• Thank you. Kia ora.