| Summary: | We have set in place a robust framework and guidelines for the management of activities by all New Zealand visitors to the Ross Dependency . We will continue to show strong leadership and demonstrate the highest standards of environmental stewardship in this most important region of Antarctica. (Hon. Simon Upton, cited in Cardy, 1998, p 15) The Environmental Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty came into force in January this year, accompanied by a restatement of New Zealand's desire to be a leader in Antarctic environmental management. The Protocol is compatible with New Zealand's own environmental management approach, as found in the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). Both having a broad, effects-based approach to 'the environment' and a requirement for environmental impact assessments to determine the acceptability of activities. With a wide scope and a need for predictive monitoring, both the RMA and the Protocol require an integrated approach. Currently, however, New Zealand's Antarctic monitoring is not integrated and does not comply fully with the Protocol. If New Zealand is going to continue to pursue a leadership role in Antarctic environmental management and to promote a New Zealand ideology, this noncompliance and lack of integration need to be addressed, and Integrated Environmental Monitoring cannot be achieved without structure or framework. This report proposes a Pressure-State-Response model (PSR) is used for State of the Environment Monitoring (SEM), and used as an overall framework within which compliance and performance monitoring are carried out, cause-effect relationships for human impacts are identified, and clear response mechanisms occur. It is further recommended that the Integrated Environmental Monitoring programme be developed gradually over time, with short term goals, medium term goals and a long term vision for an ecological state-driven predictive monitoring system which has the power to prevent, stop or alter activities.
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