National Environmental Standards (NES)Paerewa Taiao ā-Motu

National Environmental Standards (NES) are regulations that prescribe standards for environmental matters. The government sets standards where appropriate to ensure a consistent standard for an activity or resource use.

They can prescribe technical and non-technical standards, methods or other requirements for land use and subdivision, use of the coastal marine area and beds of lakes and rivers, water take and use, discharges, or noise. Each regional, city or district council must enforce the same standard. In some circumstances where specified in the NES, councils can impose stricter or more lenient standards.

We have produced guidance for several of the NES that prescribe standards for environmental matters:

• Essential Freshwater including National Environmental Standards for Freshwater, Stock Exclusion Regulations and Measuring and Reporting of Water Takes Regulations

• Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Industrial Process Heat. 2023 (NPS:IGHG, NES:IGHG)

• National Environmental Standards for Plantation Forestry, 2017 (NES-CF)

• National Environmental Standards for Sources of Drinking Water, 2007

Information about the following NES regulations is available on the Ministry for the Environment's website:

• National Environmental Standards for Air Quality, 2004

• National Environmental Standards for Freshwater, 2020

• National Environmental Standards for Marine Aquaculture, 2020

• National Environmental Standards for Storing Tyres Outdoors, 2021