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Natural Environment Bill

Foundations - Environmental limits - Management units and related methodologies

58: National standards must set management units or methodologies

You could also call this:

"National standards must set rules for managing the environment"

Illustration for Natural Environment Bill

The proposed law says national standards must decide on management units or ways to create them. You will see these units used for environmental limits, like limits on pollution. Every environmental limit must have a management unit. The law also says the size and location of these units must be right for the job. You need to use science and evidence to decide on the size and location. The proposed law is clear that this rule is extra to another part of the law, section 59. The national standards can also say how to figure out where human health limits apply. You will use these limits to keep people safe from pollution. The goal is to make sure the management units work well with the environmental limits.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1520972.

This page was last updated on 14 December 2025 — View changes

Topics:

Environment and resources > ConservationEnvironment and resources > Climate and energyHealth and wellbeing > Public health

57: Assessing existing capacity of natural environment, or

"Checking how well the natural environment can handle problems"

59: Best obtainable information, or

"Make decisions using the best information you can get"

Part 2Foundations
Environmental limits: Management units and related methodologies

58National standards must set management units or methodologies

National standards must, in relation to a domain or an attribute associated with an environmental limit,—
set management units; or
prescribe methodologies by which regional councils must identify and set management units.

Every environmental limit must be associated with a management unit.
National standards that set human health limits may prescribe methodologies for regional councils to identify where the human health limits apply.
The size and location of the management unit must—
be appropriate to achieve the purpose of the environmental limit; and
be determined by reference to scientific knowledge and evidence.

To avoid doubt, subsection (4)(b) is in addition to section 59.