Ethnicity and views about the New Zealand environment

Abstract

Limited research has been completed on the relationship between ethnicity and views within a country on the environment, pressures on the environment and its management. Some recent New Zealand research has found no significant difference in environmental world views between different ethnic groupings. We report selected results from a decade of biennial, nationwide surveys of adults in New Zealand. By socio-demographic measures, respondents are broadly representative of New Zealand adults. In each biennial survey we have found significant differences between ethnicities in views on water quality, causes of damage to water, and water management. There are also significant differences between ethnicities in participation in environmental activities. Our survey has an advantage over other work in that it is able to distinguish between indigenous New Zealanders and native-born New Zealanders, a distinction that proved helpful in identifying these significant differences.