Environmental Defence Society (EDS)

Join us in May 2025 for the annual EDS summit. Dollars & Sense will focus on how we can build an economy that works for nature. The 2025 event will include a one-day symposium on oceans, followed by two days of conferencing.

EDS has submitted to the Offshore Renewable Energy Bill. In our latest media release, EDS’s Reform Director Greg Severinsen comments on the Bill:   “The Bill is necessary and has good features. However, some improvements are needed…”   Because the Bill’s scope is limited to offshore renewables, it lacks consideration for situations where non-renewable activities may want to use the same space, such as seabed mining.   Offshore renewables are not included in the fast-track process, leaving potential for conflicting activities to swoop for the same location. This could deter investors from offshore wind projects.   Severinsen highlights the importance of “broader marine spatial planning to determine what kinds of activities should go where and to manage any conflicts and synergies between them.” For the full media release and submission, follow the link below: https://lnkd.in/dyCGG2E9

EDS has submitted on FNZ’s proposals for managing rock lobster (crayfish) in the Hauraki Gulf, Coromandel, and Bay of Plenty fishery (CRA 2). Some of the proposals are positive. EDS strongly supports the need to close the inner Hauraki Gulf and set a higher long-term management target for the stock. However, none of the proposals go far enough to rebuild depleted crayfish populations and restore degraded kelp forests in the wider fishery. We have requested a suite of stronger protective measures to provide for effective ecosystem-based management.   Read the full submission via the link below: https://lnkd.in/eAK2ASJE  

2025 brings a new sense of urgency for environmental action. In his recent opinion for Newsroom NZ, EDS’s Chief Executive Gary Taylor explains the upcoming challenges the new year has in store.   “The reforms planned for 2025 are far more extensive and worrying. All national policy statements and environmental standards – the engine room of our resource management system – that guide all development, are under threat,”    “Most of the damaging agendas of ministers were completed in 2024. Hopefully, we will see a more nuanced outcome and ideally cross-party support for the wider system reforms this year.”   Check out the full op-ed below:   https://lnkd.in/dtw4u_E5

EDS has submitted on the proposed Regulatory Standards Bill. Its Chief Executive Gary Taylor says: “The proposed Bill in fact constitutes a retrograde constitutional shift by mandating a narrow, ideological and radical approach to regulation-making” “This Bill, like the Treaty Principles Bill, is seeking to entrench radical ideological ideas into our law-making processes and should be stopped in its tracks.” 📖 Read the full media release and submission below: https://lnkd.in/eyQbMvms

Check out Stephanie McKee’s review of EDS’s book, Environmental Defenders, in the Coromandel Town Chronicle.   “From the deep south to the far north, from the Clyde Dam to the Karikari Peninsula, from the geothermal areas of Rotorua to the iconic coastlines of the Coromandel, EDS has worked to protect what’s left of our natural world.” “The depth and breadth of this chronology is truly impressive.” 📖 Read Stephanie’s full review below: https://lnkd.in/eSrxrZWe

Save the date! The 2025 Climate Change and Business Conference will be held on the 8-9 September at the Viaduct Events Centre in Tāmaki Makaurau. The 2025 conference theme is Ambition. Accountability. Action. The theme provides a platform for discussion about the most effective interventions business leaders are taking at speed and scale, often in close collaboration with governments, across these three pillars. Most importantly, it reflects the critical role of business in securing our ambitions for the future. With a focus on the ‘how’ – this year’s sessions will showcase examples of cutting-edge action here in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally. More information about the conference is available here: https://lnkd.in/gJcBJy6g Sign up for updates: https://lnkd.in/evGAihzj

Save the date! The 2025 Climate Change and Business Conference will be held on the 8-9 September at the Viaduct Events Centre in Tāmaki Makaurau. The 2025 conference theme is Ambition. Accountability. Action. The theme provides a platform for discussion about the most effective interventions business leaders are taking at speed and scale, often in close collaboration with governments, across these three pillars. Most importantly, it reflects the critical role of business in securing our ambitions for the future. With a focus on the ‘how’ – this year’s sessions will showcase examples of cutting-edge action here in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally. More information about the conference is available here: https://lnkd.in/gJcBJy6g Sign up for updates: https://lnkd.in/evGAihzj

EDS has today released a case study on the Marlborough Sounds as part of its broader oceans reform project.   The Marlborough Sounds is an iconic and unique marine area with an intricate web of marine inlets and islands that contain a wide diversity of marine life.   But the area is under immense environmental pressure from stressors including high levels of sedimentation, damage to seabed habitats from bottom trawling and dredging, over-harvesting of fish stocks and climate change.   Reversing this long-term degradation will require a concerted and integrated effort which includes passive marine restoration, active marine restoration and land-based efforts. EDS’s case study identifies some ways in which this might be achieved.   This is outlined in the full media release available via the link below: https://lnkd.in/eb297bvM

EDS has submitted on Fisheries New Zealand’s proposals for managing the Northland (CRA 1) rock lobster fishery. The proposals are a positive step towards more effective long-term management of the stock. However, they are not enough. There is strong evidence that the widespread depletion of rock lobster on the East Coast has resulted in extensive loss of kelp forests from shallow reefs. EDS has requested an urgent closure of the East Coast fishery to halt further declines in the rock lobster population, and support recovery of our kelp forests, while other measures are being worked through. Read the submission below: https://lnkd.in/eXmigN3X