The resource management system is at the heart of regional government's work. It shapes how New Zealand’s natural and physical resources are managed for the benefit of communities, ecosystems, and the economy.
Regional and unitary councils have collaborated for decades to deliver robust resource management solutions, developing the expertise necessary to implement the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) and navigate its complex demands. This collective effort underscores the importance of resource management in ensuring sustainable development and resilience to environmental challenges.
While central government provides national direction, regional and territorial authorities implement the RMA and its regulations at a local level.
Regional councils, meanwhile, oversee the integrated management of resources like water, soil, and air, as well as coastal areas, land use affecting natural hazards, and the preparation of regional policy statements and plans. Territorial authorities then focus on land use, subdivision, noise management, and ensuring sufficient development capacity for housing and businesses. Unitary councils (Auckland, Gisborne, Nelson, Tasman, and Marlborough) perform both regional and territorial functions! (Learn more about the roles of councils here)
By working together through Te Uru Kahika, councils bring both regional insight and local application to create resource management solutions and efficiencies.
Regional and unitary councils prepare regional policy statements and plans to guide sustainable development, addressing issues such as water quality, coastal erosion, air pollution, and natural hazard mitigation.
These plans include policies and rules that reflect both local priorities and national direction, ensuring activities like land use, building, and discharges to water or air are managed effectively. The councils’ technical expertise is key to crafting these documents and delivering resource management functions in a way that meets the needs of the region.
The councils’ expertise also extends to compliance monitoring and enforcement under the RMA, ensuring activities meet environmental standards.
Te Uru Kahika, as the collective voice of regional and unitary councils, brings decades of technical expertise and on-the-ground experience to the resource management space. From managing freshwater systems to addressing land-use conflicts, councils provide durable, practical solutions informed by science and tailored to local conditions.
There is a strong network of Te Uru Kahika Special Interest Groups comprised of members from the 16 regional and unitary councils who are responsible for aspects of the resource management system. They link together through our Te Uru Kahika Resource Managers Group of leaders who champion a collective approach to ensure that resource management is not only reactive to issues, but also anticipatory and adaptive.
Central government are working to replace the RMA with new legislation. As a country, there is widespread agreement that the RMA hasn't achieved the desired outcomes and has become to complex and expensive. Te Uru Kahika is engaging in the RMA replacement legislation design process and looking forward to working with central government to provide the implementation expertise of Special Interest Groups and other expects from across regional government.
We stand ready too offer practical, evidence-based advice to shape legislation that is both effective and regionally responsive.
It is exciting to imagine an effective resource management system where the environment is looked after and resources are used in a way that provides prosperity for our communities for now, and generations to come.