Resource Management

What we do and why we do it

The environment function of Council is carried out in terms of the requirements of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). This function requires the monitoring and reporting on the state of the Chatham Islands environment – its land, air, water and coastal resources; and review, at not less than 10-year intervals, of policy for managing the natural and physical resources of the Chatham Islands. 

An important part of this function is ensuring the ongoing involvement of the community in defining issues, developing policy and implementing best practice methods to manage issues.

Chatham Islands Resource Management Document 2020 – fully operative

The Chatham Islands Council resolved to make the Chatham Islands Resource Management Document fully operative on 22 December 2020.

See the decision documents, relevant to the development of the Chatham Islands Resource Management Document (CIRMD):

Monitoring Activities

Council is required to monitor the state of the environment, so it can effectively carry out its functions under the RMA. Monitoring of various resources can provide us with information that will:

• inform us about the current condition of the environment;
• tell us what the key pressures on the environment are, whether the environment is getting better or worse, and what the Council is doing or intending to do to look after the environment;
• allow Council to assess the effectiveness of policies and methods relating to environmental management;
• raise awareness of environmental issues in the community;
• assist in making suggestions on ways to reduce adverse environmental effects; and
• enable Council to support a range of practical, on the ground responses, to address specific issues.