Cumulative effects management under the Resource Management Act 1991 : A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Planning at Lincoln University

Abstract

This dissertation examines the potential within the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) for the management of cumulative effects, following the Supreme Court decision in Environmental Defence Society v The New Zealand King Salmon Co Ltd [2014] NZSC 38. This is arranged around a central research question: Can cumulative effects be managed under the Resource Management Act 1991? Through focused questions eight high level strategies for cumulative effects management were identified, with these strategies able to be implemented through ten mechanical strategies that are established within the Act. The application of these strategies within two planning documents and one proposal was assessed, with all three demonstrating the use of the strategies in some cases. The overall finding of this dissertation is that while the RMA does include many strategies for the management of cumulative effects, this is limited by both internal features and omissions and external pressures. These include the ambiguity of definitions of relating to cumulative effects, the environment, non-standard terminology for strategies within the RMA, when compared to international best practice.