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Monitoring Our Environment

Community Plan

The Local Government Act 2002 requires territorial local authorities to prepare Long-Term Council Community Plans (LTCCP). This 10-year plan sets out the outcomes the community. Our current LTCCP covers the planning period 2006 – 2016.

Councils are required to monitor progress toward achieving the stated outcomes and report to the community on overall progress once every three years. Our next report to the community is in 2008.

Long-Term Council Community Plan (LLTCP)

District Plan

The Resource Management Act 1991 requires councils to report on the state of the district’s environment from time to time, and also to report on the effectiveness of District Plan policies every three years. The first ‘effectiveness’ monitoring report is scheduled to be published before September 2008.

The District Plan sets out the anticipated environmental results expected to be achieved by the plan’s policies. The current District Plan, which also has a life of 10 years, became operative on 15 August 2005.

District Plan

How are we doing?

The collection, monitoring and analysis of key data is ongoing. Read the scorecards and indictors in relation to outcomes and anticipated environmental results from the Community and District plans.

How are we doing - scorecards and indicators

What is monitoring?

Monitoring is the systematic collection, analysis and reporting of trends and changes observable over time from the data collected. The ongoing and systematic capture of information allows organisations and communities to track progress towards achieving their desired outcomes or goals.

The analysis of trends and changes will provide guidance in the formulation and promotion of any necessary changes to policy settings within the LTCCP and the District Plan to ensure that public interventions are best directed to achieve the outcomes sought.

Diagram showing the monitoring process.

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How do we monitor?

The data collected in a monitoring programme is usually referred to as indicators. This is summary data relevant to the outcomes being monitored and can be likened to ‘flags’ or ‘signals’ to assist in identifying changes as they occur over time.

The data collected is at a ‘high level’ and indicative only. However, it is considered sufficiently detailed to detect changes over time in the economic, social cultural and environmental well being of the District.

We have opted to take an integrated approach in the monitoring of the Long Term Council Community Plan (LTCCP) and the District Plan. The concept of integrated monitoring includes the following considerations:

Integration of the use of indicators for the LTCCP and District Plan where appropriate so as to ensure a holistic approach to the monitoring of the districts overall well-being.
Utilisation of indicators developed at a regional level where they are applicable at a district level;
Encompasses the statutory monitoring requirements of the Local Government Act and Resource Management Act.
Integrates data obtained from a wide range of sources into one reporting format.
Integrates data collection and reports on the economic, social, cultural and environmental bottom line.

Integrated indicators matrix (19KB PDF)

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What do we report?

We have opted to report in the format of the OECD Pressure–State–Response Framework (PSR). This model was developed in the 1980s for state of the environment reporting and continues to be used internationally. It has been adapted for quadruple (economic, social, cultural and environmental) bottom line reporting.

The PSR model demonstrates the inter-relationships between the pressures that are exerted on the environment by human activities thereby affecting the quality and quantity of resources. Such pressures alter the state and/or condition of the environment. Society’s response is the actions of central and local government, the community and individuals to reduce, prevent or mitigate any undesirable changes.

OECD Pressure-State-Response Framework

Diagram showing the Pressure-State-Response model.

The results of monitoring are shown on the scorecards for each of the outcomes of the LTCCP and in the case of the District Plan, under theme headings related to the anticipated environmental results.

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When do we monitor?

Data is continually gathered by the council in its day to day operations and by external agencies. It is updated regularly.