Someone must front cost of land-use changes to protect environment, report warns

Posted: 22 May 2024

Someone will have to front the cost of land-use changes necessary to protect the environment, a new report from the government's top environmental advisor warns.

Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton has released two reports addressing the problem of responding to the challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and water quality.

The first report, titled Going with the grain: Changing land uses to fit a changing landscape, said paying for land use change could be "eye-wateringly expensive", but "if no one will, the environment will continue to pay".

"What costs should lie with landowners? When should public subsidy be available to facilitate land use change, and how should that public subsidy be funded? We have raised several options in this paper, but ultimately these are political questions."

Read more on RNZ.