New planning laws are now in place. The Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions & Transport is publishing guidance, tools and updates on this website as the new planning system is introduced in stages.
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Natural environment planning
Find out more about natural environment planning in the new planning system including the setting of environmental limits.
Natural environment planning is about managing natural resources and environmental effects. Natural environment plans (NEPs) will manage matters such as freshwater, air, soil, ecosystems, biodiversity, discharges, coastal water, resource use and natural hazard risks.
The Natural Environment Act sets a new approach for planning that is intended to be clearer, more consistent and easier to use. More direction will be set nationally before NEPs can be prepared. NEPs must also implement regional spatial plans and other relevant national standards and rules.
Central government will set human health limits and can specify methodologies for developing ecosystem health limits through national standards. Regional councils will set ecosystem health limits in natural environment plans.
How natural environment planning differs from the RMA
The RMA managed land use, development and the natural environment through a single Act, with natural environment planning carried out at national, regional and district levels, often across multiple regional and district plans.
The new system separates land use planning from natural environment planning, while keeping them connected through national policy direction, national standards and regional spatial plans.
Natural environment plans will cover matters such as freshwater, air, soil, ecosystems, biodiversity, discharges, coastal water, resource use and natural hazard risks affecting natural resources. More direction will be set nationally before natural environment plans are prepared. This should make rules, maps, plan structures and processes more consistent across the country.
The largest difference will result from the setting of environmental limits.
Local government remains central to natural environment planning but will work within a stronger and more consistent national framework set through national instruments. Planning activities will remain familiar and include applying national instruments, working with iwi authorities and communities, processing permit applications, and carrying out compliance and enforcement.
Natural environment plans will set rules and requirements for how natural resources such as air, water, soil and indigenous biodiversity are used, protected and managed. More issues are intended to be resolved through national instruments and regional combined plans, than through individual permit applications.
Many common or lower-impact activities may not need a permit under the new planning system. Action plans will be the main tool used to respond when a limit is under pressure. If a limit is breached, action plans aim to bring resource use back within environmental limits over time. These may include changes to plans or permit conditions, or non-regulatory actions such as catchment groups.
Who does natural environment planning affect in practice
NEPs may affect anyone who uses land or natural resources, undertakes activities that affect freshwater, air, soil, ecosystems, biodiversity or the coastal environment, or has an interest in how those resources are managed.
This includes:
- regional councils
- territorial authorities
- iwi and hapū
- resource users, including farmers, growers, infrastructure providers, businesses and industries whose activities interact with natural resources
- communities and landowners
- environmental and community groups.
For practitioners, the shift is not only about understanding new legislation. It is also about changing practice, processes, digital systems and ways of working. Making these changes will be just as important as understanding the new legislation.
What happens next
Implementation training and events
We will build implementation support as the new system develops and as national standards and regulations are gazetted. This will include guidance, implementation support materials, examples and learning resources.