In January 2008 the NZ Ministry for the Environment issued its second state of the environment report, Environment New Zealand 2007, highlighting the impact and significant improvements, as well as continuing work needed, since the RMA was enacted in 1991. The report uses hard data, reporting on 19 indicators and over 80 specific aspects of resources. All stakeholders welcomed the report as a tool for environmental decision-making. The next report is due in 2012, in addition to regular trend and snapshot updates. The report is available by entering the name of the report in the Search window at http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications.

The Quality Planning website of New Zealand's Ministry for the Environment
has newly issued Guidance notes on structuring, organizing and writing
provisions of regional and district plans under the Resource Management
Act. Many plans are at the ten-year stage and are coming up for review.
Additional notes on monitoring and enforcement will be available soon,
also at www.qp.org.nz. The QP website promotes best practices for
officials, consultants, environmental managers, and others involved in
resource management.

The EU has approved legislation that will force national governments to
apply criminal sanctions for deliberate or negligent damage to the
environment. The list of crimes includes, inter alia, unlawful discharges
or emissions into the air, soil or water so as to cause "substantial
damage" to humans and/or to the environment; waste shipments; killing,
destruction, possession, trading of protected fauna or flora specimens,
except when little or no impact on conservation status; any conduct
causing significant deterioration of habitats within protected sites; and,
production, importation, exportation, placing on the market or use of
ozone-depleting substances. Inciting, aiding, abetting are equally
criminal. Penalties are left to member states' with the proviso that they
be "effective, proportionate and dissuasive". The law is limited to areas
where the EU has competence, leaving national legislation intact in other
areas.