New Zealand’s Environment Ministry released the results of the year-long streamlining of its Resource Management Act. According to the Ministry, the major changes reduce the time and cost of: appeals, the process for reviewing nationally significant proposals, preparing and changing policies, and review of applications; improves the efficiency of enforcement and compliance; and improves the overall workability of decision-making under the RMA. The full Ministry statement and report is available at:
http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/rma/rma-amendment-act-factsheets-2009/factsheet-1.html

In a unique melding of two technologies, Singapore`s Environment and Water Industry Development Council is preparing to fund research projects on using biomimicry for natural desalination. https://rita.nrf.gov.sg/ewi/0902/default.aspx

The EU`s progress in achieving sustainability was boosted by fully adopting almost all proposals from the Netherlands, a pioneer in Green Plans. Dutch Environment Minister Cramer was `delighted.` The EU strategy calls for increased investments in research and development with sustainability as a central requirement. Improvements will be made in how environmental pollution is incorporated into product pricing, e.g., green tax incentives and internalizing external costs in international production chains. In addition, sustainable procurement and eco-innovation will increase demand for sustainable goods and services. NTH adopted its first National Environmental Policy Plan in 1989; for more information go to RRI's page http://www.rri.org/greenplans_netherlands.html

Sustainable Jersey is specifically intended to take New Jersey beyond the single issue of curbing global warming. The program encompasses a broad range of issues including global warming, pollution, biodiversity, land use, air and water quality, equity, buying local, local living economies, sustainable agriculture, etc. Partners in the program include the New Jersey League of Mayors Committee for a Green Future, the Municipal Land Use Center at College of New Jersey, Rutgers University, the state Department of Environmental Protection, the state Board of Public Utilities and a coalition of nonprofits, state agencies, and consulting experts. Check out its Participating Communities at www.sustainablejersey.com/actionlist.php

The EU`s Sixth Environment Programme, running through 2012, has 4 main priorities: climate change, biodiversity, health, and resource use, and 7 thematic strategies to address them: Soil quality; Air quality; the Marine environment; the Sustainable use of resources; Waste prevention and recycling; Pesticides; and the Urban environment. France, a Green Plan nation, recently announced that it will rejoin discussions on the EU Directive on Soil, first issued in 2006. The overall objective is the protection and sustainable use of soil, based on the following guiding principles: preventing further degradation of soil and preserving its functions, by use and management patterns; reducing sources of emissions that soil receives as a sink; and restoring degraded soil to a level that enables at least its current or intended use.