The Environmental Defence Society (EDS) has today released its landmark report Pathway to Oceans Reform, setting out a practical programme to fix Aotearoa New Zealand’s broken oceans management system.
“Our oceans are under immense and growing pressure,” said EDS Policy Director Raewyn Peart, the report’s author.
“Rapidly warming seas, marine heatwaves, chronic sedimentation, habitat loss and invasive species are compounding long-standing problems like overfishing and damaging fishing methods. The result is widespread ecological decline. The status quo is simply not fit for purpose.
“The report highlights major gaps in the current framework, including inadequate recognition of Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations and fragmented governance across multiple statutes and agencies.
“But the report does more than catalogue problems. It sets out a clear, staged pathway for reform including:
“The first three elements would be provided for in a new Oceans Act.
“Funding will also be required to support local and regional marine planning and restoration efforts. The report proposes the establishment of a Marine Restoration Fund which could be part-funded by charges on marine users, many of which do not currently pay towards marine management.
“The report distils widely supported improvements into a practical, sequenced programme. It shows how government, iwi and hapū, communities and industry can work together to restore the health of the moana while also supporting a sustainable blue economy.
“This is a constructive, solutions-focused package. It’s designed to be achievable. The message from EDS’s Oceans Symposium earlier this year was clear: we must act now, we must act together, and we must put the health of the oceans first. This report provides the blueprint to do just that,” says Ms Peart.
Pathway to Oceans Reform was supported by the Michael and Suzanne Borrin Foundation and the Ministry for the Environment. Copies are available here.