MPI and MfE have undertaken several environmental economic studies to build a strong evidence base to support decisions by central government, local government and community stakeholders. This paper investigates the costs and effects of a range of future urban development scenarios on water quality in the Lucas Creek catchment, located on the northern fringe of Auckland.

The aim of the Northland Sediment Study is to develop a model that will integrate science and economics to assess the potential economic costs of meeting a range of attribute states for sediment and E. coli in Whangarei Harbour and freshwater environments that drain into Whangarei Harbour.This report develops a sediment budget for Whangarei Harbour from which AASR in a number of individual depositional basins may be evaluated. The precise method for evaluating AASR from the sediment budget is given.

The purpose of this report is to show how sediment loads as modelled by SedNetNZ may be disaggregated into a time distribution of sediment concentration and other sediment attributes of importance to freshwater ecology. Whangarei Harbour Catchment is the case study to demonstrate the method.

This report details the development and application of a Choice Experiment (CE) used to identify and measure New Zealand resident’s preferences for several water quality outcomes resultant from a farm animal (stock) exclusion policy.

MPI contracted NIWA to conduct a national scale study on the effectiveness of fencing to exclude animals from waterways.This report describes the methods used to develop estimates of the farm-scale effectiveness of fencing animals out of streams. The proportion of land used to graze the different classes of stock for the modelling scenarios are also estimated.

This report identifies the costs of fencing and riparian planting in the context of excluding
stock from waterways across New Zealand, so that it limits the quantity of nutrients and
pathogens entering a flowing waterway. It is part of a larger project assessing the value of
enhancing freshwater quality and identifying potential policies for stock exclusion alongside the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM).

Northland Regional Council has identified that sediment and E. coli are key water
quality challenges in the Northland region. As a result, NRC has engaged in a joint venture with MPI to commission the Whangarei Harbour Sediment and E. coli study. This report looks at cost-effective ways to manage sediment and E. coli loads in the Whangarei Harbour catchment. These include both practice-based approaches (e.g. fencing streams) and outcome-based approaches (e.g. reducing sediment loads by 20%).

The aim of the Northland Sediment Study is to develop a model that will integrate science and economics to assess the potential economic costs of meeting a range of attribute states for sediment and E. coli in Whangarei Harbour and freshwater environments that drain into Whangarei Harbour. This report describes the way freshwater sediment attributes are to be evaluated.

The Northland Sediment Study aims to integrate science and economics to assess the potential economic costs of achieving sediment and microbiological water quality objectives in Whangarei Harbour and in the streams and rivers that drain into the Whangarei Harbour.This report documents the development and calibration of a customised version of the CLUES model for E. coli for the Northland region, with specific emphasis given to the Whangarei Harbour catchment.

MPI and MfE have undertaken several environmental economic studies to build a strong evidence base to support decisions by central government, local government and community stakeholders. This paper provides an analysis of mitigations to manage sediment and E. coli loads in the Whangarei Harbour catchment in order to meet freshwater objectives and limits.

MPI and MfE have undertaken several environmental economic studies to build a strong evidence base to support decisions by central government, local government and community stakeholders. These studies help to identify the most appropriate solutions for catchments to achieve particular objectives, challenge assumptions about the likely benefits of different approaches, and help to better target policies.This paper provides a cost-benefit analysis of different options for excluding stock from freshwater bodies in New Zealand.

MPI and MfE have undertaken several environmental economic studies to build a strong evidence base to support decisions by central government, local government and community stakeholders.The economic studies focus on efficient allocation of water and nitrogen discharges, the benefits of transfer and trade, and cost-effective options for maintaining or improving water quality. This paper provides an analysis of mitigations to manage sediment and E. coli loads in the Whangarei Harbour catchment.

MPI commissioned NIWA, in partnership with AgResearch Ltd, to develop and run a national model for predicting the impacts of fencing for stock exclusion on fresh water quality as indicated by annual median and 95th percentile E. coli concentrations. This report documents the development of the national E. coli model including data sources, model calibration and application as well as sources of error and uncertainty.

Two separate instances of dogs being infested with an introduced and unwanted pest, the brown dog tick, have occurred in New Zealand this year (2015). These small, isolated outbreaks occurred on pet dogs in Canterbury and Wellington. The two cases appear to be unrelated and to date, no signs of a wider population of this tick have been found.