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SANZ's key project is to facilitate awareness for the need of a New Zealand Sustainable Development Blueprint, and to assist with its development, ratification, and adoption.
Towards a New Zealand Sustainable Development Blueprint
"Ultimately, sustainable development is not something that governments do for people; it is something people achieve for themselves through individual and collective change." (Cielito Habito)
SANZ acknowledges that Agenda 21 (UNCED, 1992) called for all countries to develop a national sustainable development strategy. Agenda 21 recognised that key decisions are needed at a national level, that an orderly approach - a ‘strategy’- was critical and such a strategy should be made by stakeholders together.
SANZ supports Cabinet (July 2001) and Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment (August 2002) decisions to develop a New Zealand Sustainable Development Strategy (NZSDS). Government changed its focus to a ‘Programme of Action’ (January 2003), which looked specifically at water quality and allocation, energy, sustainable cities, and child and youth development. This approach was based on the government’s interpretation of priority actions at that time, rather than the result of any community consultation. Although SANZ supports all activities that promote sustainable development, we consider the 2003 'Programme of Action' to be too narrow and that a more strategic approach is now required.
SANZ would like to work with government and the wider community to develop a New Zealand approach to sustainable development. To this end, the existence of a network is an extremely valuable means of channelling the views of all stakeholders, including community groups, academia, business, and all levels of government. Our objective is to promote and possibly produce an overarching 'blueprint' that helps guide and interconnect various social, economic, environmental, and cultural strategies.
Over the next few years we envisage consolidating the network and developing discussion papers on a range of topics in order to distill consensus on the key building blocks of a ‘national sustainable development blueprint’ for New Zealand. To complete this task successfully we need input and advice from a wide range of New Zealanders and organizations interested in promoting sustainable development.
If you are interested in participating, please consider joining SANZ now.
Wendy Reid
Executive Director, Sustainable Aotearoa New Zealand
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