Commissioner's preface
During the 2002/2003 year, my team and I have embarked on three of the most challenging and potentially valuable studies the office has tackled and also developed our second five-year strategic plan, Future Focus 2003-07: Strategic Plan for the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment 2003-07. These four initiatives illustrate the evolving role of the PCE and the ways in which the PCE can contribute to the advancement of environmental sustainability.
Our investigation into primary production drivers, shapers and trends (economic, sustainability, productivity etc) is a strategic look at the part of New Zealand's biological economy that produces a significant proportion of our foreign exchange. We are approaching our study from a view that New Zealand is in the business of pampering the palettes and passions of the world's more prosperous - from a predominantly biotic economy and a unique ancient ecology.
The provision of electricity and other energy services to a 21st century society is an extraordinary complex undertaking in technical, economic, social and political dimensions. Our development and application of an environmental assessment methodology for the electricity industry has a broad objective to examine the overall sustainability of New Zealand's electricity system.
In our 'think piece' on education for sustainability we aim to draw together the evidence for 'sustainability' education in all our walks of life as a critical element of the necessary transition. Our contribution is not intended to be a definitive 'road map' for New Zealand's education for sustainability. Rather, it is a catalyst for discussion and debate about why it is needed and how to make education for sustainability a mainstream reality, building on current initiatives.
My second strategic plan, Future Focus: Strategic Plan for the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment 2003-07, signals an intent to maintain our focus on environmental sustainability and expand our examination of legislative, economic and policy drivers. This sharpening of focus on drivers recognises that improving the environmental sustainability of our activities and the habitats (urban, rural, marine, etc) we occupy means redesigning the way we do things. Redesigning to avoid impacts is often more complex than mitigating effects. It requires new ways of seeing issues, needs and opportunities.
