The New Zealand Chapter recently lodged a comprehensive submission on the National Policy Statement on Indigenous Biodiversity. Chapter Vice President Dr Mark Bellingham commented that: “The Proposed NPS on Indigenous Biodiversity has been many years coming and we welcome it. EIANZ supports the NPS and most of what has been proposed. EIANZ have submitted some changes to the NPS policies to make it more effective.

Of particular interest to EIANZ was the need for the NPS to formally recognise Accredited Ecologists, such as those certified by the Institute’s Certified Environmental Practitioner scheme. Currently many councils do not recognise accredited ecologists and the ecological advice they get suffers from a lack of professional standards – we seek to correct that through the National Policy Statement on Indigenous Biodiversity.”  

CLICK HERE TO READ THE SUBMISSION