Hirakata City Environmental Department, Pollution Control Section
A clean and green country. New Zealand is a large, beautiful country which is blessed with an abundance of natural beauty. Being able to spend more than 40 days in such a country was a valuable experience not just from the standpoint of my work, but personally as well, and I am very grateful for all the wonderful experiences I had.
I am working in the Pollution Control Section at the Hirakata City Office in Osaka, and I am involved in environmental administration. I would like to report on the current state of New Zealand's environmental preservation policy from this standpoint, and also share my own personal views.
New Zealand's environmental policy and management
New Zealand has undergone administrative reform in recent years, and in regard to environmental policy and management as well, it has been seeking to make such administration the responsibility of each local governing body. The idea behind such an approach is that it gives each region the advantage of making their environmental policy best reflect the needs of their individual region, and it also means that the national government does not have to provide financial assistance to the various regional governments as they carry out their individual environmental policy.
On a national level, New Zealand has been pursuing its present environmental policy (following the administrative reforms of 1984) based upon the Resource Management Act of 1991. As with other administrative methods, environmental policy and management are defined and based upon the idea that the basic, fundamental structure is national, but each local governing body has its own particular role to fulfill. Therefore, the environmental plans (independent Regional Plans) being carried out by each individual local governing organization reflect the special needs and characteristics of the region. These plans correspond to those of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the environmental standards and guiding principles of Australia, and New Zealand's policy and management are also adequately established technologically.
In addition to environmental preservation, the Department of Conservation has the role of designating given areas as special natural preserves, and at this time over one third of the nation has been designated as such and is protected land. Except for lakes and large rivers, most of the land in New Zealand is privately owned, but this private land is still designated as conservation lands. In such cases, the private owners obey the government policy and work to preserve the natural environment. In fact, New Zealanders enjoy owning vast natural forests and having them as their back yards. Also, any factory construction or land development must be regulated by the Department of Conservation, so it is also highly effective in environmental control in an indirect way.
Three key slogans for environmental policy and management
Sustainability
Sense of balance
Beneficiaries bear the cost
During my stay in New Zealand, I often heard the above-mentioned three expressions when hearing and seeing explanations about environmental matters, and when talking with my host families.
1) Sustainability
The word "sustainability" is one that comes up often as environmental preservation methodology is discussed and carried out. In regard to the source of electrical energy, this is the reason given for the fact that New Zealand is highly dependent upon hydroelectric power. This source of electricity is sustainable into the future. I heard people say that one requirement for maintaining sustainability is maintaining the current small population, and it is certain that big reason why people can advocate the need for sustainability is that the population is so low.
Even with the requirement for sustainability, the abundant natural resources found in New Zealand are the source of much foreign revenue coming into the country. The number of tourists from overseas is rising annually, and some part of the sequel of Jurassic Park (Lost World) was filmed in New Zealand's Milford Sound because of its scenery. Natural beauty as a tourism resource. I felt that this understanding was one reason why New Zealand's environmental preservation policy is so readily accepted in the country.
2) A sense of balance
One condition for attaining sustainability in relation to the environmental problem is maintaining a good balance between environmental preservation and industrial activity.
No matter what country you are in, there is often incompatibility between environmental preservation and job security based on industrial growth and promotion. While I was in New Zealand, I heard opinions from both the administrative side and the citizens' side about the important issue of how to find this balance. In New Zealand, pressure from environmental groups (particularly Greenpeace) is intense and environmental preservation policy is strong, so if someone wants to build a new business or factory, they must go through very strict and rigorous environmental protection preparations which take a lot of time and labor. For example, one factory we visited on our vocational study (the Rayonier Fibreboard Company) spent 4 years on these preparations before commencing construction, and they had to meet 207 pollution prevention requirements set forth by the city office's environmental preservation policy. I heard a number of people voice their opinions that there was a need to reconsider the environmental policy because it was too strict, but it seemed to me that there was a fairly good balance between environmental preservation and industrial activity.
Regarding the influence of New Zealand's major industry, agriculture, on the environment, it appears that this influence has become more and more apparent in recent years as economic reasons have caused changes in the agricultural industry. The raising of cattle has quite a dramatic effect on the preservation of water quality, but at present, due to a decline in the profitability of sheep farming, farmers have been switching over to the more profitable dairy product business from New Zealand's traditional sheep farming. This trend toward dairy farming, is going to be the topic of concern in the future as the farmers and the government work to achieve a balance between agriculture (which brings in 70% of foreign currency) and environmental preservation.
There are many ranch owners who are well aware of these things, and at the ranches we visited that are owned by Rotarians, we saw actual cases of ranchers and farmers who, because of their good sense and concern to preserve the environment, were cooperating harmoniously with the local governing bodies to hand over the portions of their land that contain water sources to the trust and control of the government in order to help preserve water quality. Such mutual understanding and harmonious cooperation is worthy of great respect, and it gave me a good feel for the abundance and generosity found in New Zealand.
Also, as part of New Zealand's anti-global warming policy regarding the emission of carbon dioxide, the government requires those industries that are producing large quantities of carbon dioxide to bear the cost of planting trees to help offset these emissions. Based upon the amount of emissions, a company must then plant trees in sufficient numbers to deal with the amount of carbon dioxide it releases into the atmosphere. In recent years, the forestry industry has been growing in New Zealand, and environmental preservation policy is aggressively linked to the start-up of new forestry enterprises. I felt that New Zealand's practical environmental preservation policy has attained a good balance between industrial growth and environmental preservation, and this will be helpful as New Zealand gropes for new, efficient industries in these post-sheep farming days.
3) Beneficiaries bear the cost
Local governments are responsible for a number of things, such as building and managing roads, drainage and sewage systems, and the construction and administration of parks and other public facilities. The local governing bodies do not receive any financial assistance toward these activities from the national government, however, and since there is no corporate tax levied on the local industries, these administrative services are all paid for by regional taxes (predominantly property taxes). The tax rate changes aservation and industrial activity.
No matter what country you are in, there is often incompatibility between environmental preservation and job security based on industrial growth and promotion. While I was in New Zealand, I heard opinions from both the administrative side and the citizens' side about the important issue of how to find this balance. In New Zealand, pressure from environmental groups (particularly Greenpeace) is intense and environmental preservation policy is strong, so if someith, it appears that the citizens, in general, understand the need for such a "beneficiaries-bear-the-cost" approach to paying for drainage and sewage services. And, according to a newspaper article I read, since beneficiaries must also bear the cost of any improvements and renovations to existing facilities, there are times when their payments rise suddenly. Such an approach to paying for administrative costs is striking and remarkable in a country where there are so few users (beneficiaries), and fundamental market principles can be seen working in such a "beneficiaries-bear-the-cost" form of financing local administration. In those areas where demand is low (meaning the population is sparse), administrators face the disadvantage of not having the funds to provide larger scale services, and there is a need in such areas for high local taxes. Also, because of the fact that the citizens must pay directly for the administrative costs of their local region, many are calling for smaller city offices and the consolidation of small city offices so that they can get by (so they think) with lower administrative costs. For this reason, one very important concern is that city offices achieve an appropriate balance between the projected budget necessary to operate the office (i.e., the amount of tax revenue received from beneficiaries) and the administrative activities and their results. Every city office I visited mentioned how much effort and care it takes to come up with a good well aware of these things, and at the ranches we visited that are owned by Rotarians, we saw actual cases of ranchers and farmers who, because of their good sense and concern to preserve the environment, were cooperating harmoniously with the local governing bodies to hand over the portions of their land that contain water sources to the trust and control of the government in order to help preserve water quality. Such mutual understanding and harmonious cooperation is worthy of great respect, and it tax revenue")?
Because the population is sparse in New Zealand, it is possible to have environmental policy and management that is sustainable. But because the population is small, local governing bodies face the pressure of having to pay for their services using a "beneficiaries-bear-the-cost" approach. How can a balance be achieved between these two facts of life? I felt strongly that we in Japan need to keep our eye on what happens in New Zealand a New Zealand that is expected to undergo more and more change industrially over the next 10 years.
Well, my report has come to an end, and I want to take this opportunity
to express my gratitude to all those who shared their hospitality and assistance
throughout the GSE program, and to all those on the GSE committee who gave
me this wonderful opportunity. Thank you.
