Environmental Reporting Data

16 April 2020: Subsequent to publication in April 2019 we discovered two small errors with this dataset. These included:

• Errors in the coordinates of some sites and their associated metadata (such as landcover and elevation).
• Errors in our calculation of dominant landcover.

In addition, flow data from TopNet has also been updated.

These changes have a minor impact on overall results. These changes have have been corrected, and are republished here, as part of the Our freshwater 2020 release.

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This dataset measures how water quality in New Zealand’s rivers is changing over time. It contains nine parameters of water quality based on measurements made at monitored river sites in years 1990-2017:

• Nitrate-nitrogen
• Ammoniacal nitrogen
• Total nitrogen
• Total phosphorus
• Dissolved reactive phosphorus
• Water clarity
• Turbidity
• Escherichia coli
• Macroinvertebrate community index

More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

Summary report available at www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/fresh-water/water-qua....

Land use that results in a change from indigenous to exotic cover can cause biodiversity loss and reduce functioning of ecosystems. Using more land for agriculture, forestry, and urbanisation is the main driver reducing indigenous land cover across New Zealand.

Column headings:
area_ha = area of land cover measured in hectares

This dataset relates to the "Land use" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website.

Dominant land uses in New Zealand include conservation (eg national and forestry parks), forestry (eg for timber resources/wood supply), urban (eg built up areas and open parkland), and agriculture and horticulture. Each land use places different pressures on the land and on receiving environments such as waterways. These pressures can be both positive (eg increased productivity) and negative (eg biodiversity loss and reduced functioning of ecosystems).

This measure reports on agricultural and horticultural land uses by region.

This dataset shows the total irrigated agricultural land area across New Zealand for 2002 and 2017. Agricultural land irrigated in 2017 is broken down by types of irrigation systems and farm type.

Although it enables and improves farming, irrigation can also have adverse consequences relating to recreation, and can increase pollution and leaching of contaminants into waterways. Irrigation can affect the natural form and character of land (eg dry land to greener and wetter land), fishing, cultivation and food production, animal drinking water, water supply, commercial and industrial water use, and hydro-electric power generation. More irrigated land, and more water abstraction, can place increased pressure on river flows, as well as indirectly increasing pressure on land and fresh water by enabling increased agricultural intensity.

More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

River water quality water is valued for many reasons including ecological function and habitat, recreational value, its role in supporting people and industry, and its cultural significance. Nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus are essential for plant growth, however too much in rivers can lead to ‘nuisance’ growths of river algae and aquatic plants, degrading habitat. High concentrations in the form of ammoniacal nitrogen and nitrate-nitrogen can be toxic to fish and other aquatic animals. Water clarity is a measure of underwater visibility, and affects habitat of aquatic life such as fish and birds, and can also impact on aesthetic values and recreational use of rivers and streams. Escherichia coli (E.coli) can indicate the presence of pathogens (disease-causing organisms) from animal or human faeces, which can cause illness.

File contains raw data collected at regional council and NIWA monitored sites over the period 1975-2013. Fields are described as follows. Refer to Larned et al. 2015 for further details:
* nemarid ---- Unique NIWA ID
* lawaid ---- Unique LAWA ID
* rcid ---- Collection agency
* srcid ---- Region site is located in
* sflag ---- River (r) or Estuary (e)
* river ---- River name
* location ---- Name of site, assigned by collection agency
* nzmge ---- easting
* nzmgn ---- northing
* nzreach ---- REC1 segment identifier
* sdate ---- Sample date (yyyy-mm-dd)
* Q ---- Flow recorded when sample was taken (if available), cumecs
* npid ---- NIWA parameter ID (as used in Larned et al. 2015)
* lpid ---- LAWA parameter ID
* fdval ---- Parameter value (units are mg/m3, except CLAR (m) and ECOLI (n/100 mL))

For more information please see:
Larned, S, Snelder, T, Unwin, M, McBride, G, Verburg, P, McMillan, H (2015).Analysis of Water Quality in New Zealand lakes and Rivers: data sources, data sets, assumptions, limitations, methods and results. NIWA Client Report no. CHC2015-033. Available at data.mfe.govt.nz/x/Mo8VUY from the Ministry for the Environment dataservice.

This dataset relates to the "River water quality" measures on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website.

These data provide a snap shot of beach litter surveys submitted by Citizen Scientist ‘Monitoring Groups’ up to April, 2019. As defined by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP, 2009), marine litter is any persistent, manufactured or processed solid material discarded, disposed of, abandoned or lost in the marine and coastal environment. Marine litter washed onto beaches is one of the most obvious signs of marine pollution, and can have either land or sea-based origins. Land-based sources of marine litter include input from rivers, sewage and storm water outflows, tourism and recreation, illegal dumping, and waste disposal sites. Sea-based sources include commercial shipping, fisheries and aquaculture activities, recreational boating and offshore installations.

UNEP, 2009. Marine Litter: A Global Challenge. Nairobi: UNEP. 232 pp.

More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

This indicator measures the rise in annual mean coastal sea level relative to land. The national mean is derived from four long-term monitoring locations across New Zealand: Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin and Lyttelton. We also report the trends over time, from the beginning of our records until 2018. Relative sea-level rise includes the vertical land movement of the surrounding area (for example, a sinking landmass increases the rise in ocean sea level).

We report the change in annual mean coastal sea level to 2018 against the established baseline (mean sea level for 1986–2005) for the long-term sites plus an additional two sites: Moturiki (Mount Maunganui) and New Plymouth. These are not included in the national mean due to shorter records. We also measure the national annual sea-level rise for two time periods: the start of the records to 1960, and 1961–2018.

More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

Land cover describes the extent of vegetation, water bodies, built environments, and bare natural surfaces (eg gravel and rock) across New Zealand. Measuring the composition of and changes in land cover can help us understand the pressures that different land uses are placing on the biodiversity and functioning of ecosystems.

This measure reports on land cover by class, regional council area, and year.

For more information on the Landcover Database please refer to: lris.scinfo.org.nz/layer/48423-lcdb-v41-land-cover...

Our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are small compared with those of other developed nations, but we have committed to being part of the global response to climate change. New Zealand's greenhouse gas inventory is an annual report on all of the country’s human-induced GHG emissions and removals of GHG emissions. The inventory is produced as part of our obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol.
Some GHG emissions are removed, primarily by forests. Net emissions represent the total amount of gas contributed to the atmosphere but gross emmissions are also provided for New Zealand.
This dataset relates to the "New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website.

DATA SOURCE: National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)
[Technical report available at www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/environmental-reporti...]

Adapted by Ministry for the Environment and Statistics New Zealand to provide for environmental reporting transparency

Dataset used to develop the "Greenhouse gas concentrations" indicator [available at www.stats.govtnz/indicators/greenhouse-gas-concent...]

This lowest aggregation dataset, was used to develop two ‘Our Atmosphere and Climate’ indicators. See Statistics New Zealand indicator links for specific methodologies and state/trend datasets (see ‘Shiny App’ downloads).
1) Rainfall (www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/rainfall)
2) Extreme rainfall (a. www.stats.govt.nz/indicators/extreme-rainfall

This dataset shows daily rainfall at 30 sites across New Zealand from 1960 to 2019.

More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.