THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ACT Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ACT - Assignment Example The RMA advocates for the protection and development of the natural and physical resources in order to enable communities and individuals to provide for their social, cultural and economic wellbeing while safeguarding the life supporting capacity of the ecosystems and mitigating the potential adverse effects of their activities. According to Frieder (1997), the adoption of RMA was particularly significant in a number of reasons. For example, unlike the previous resource use regulations which were controlled by different agencies and sectors such as pollution, forestry and land use among others, the RMA act has provided an integrated framework for environmental and resource management. Another potential significance of the Resource Management Act is that it is the first statute in New Zealand to incorporate the principle of environmental sustainability and sustainable management as part of the regulatory framework. This is particularly based on the notion that sustainable management of our resources is critically important for the regulation of human activities on the environment. This paper critically discusses the use of New Zealand’s Resource Management Act as a tool for promoting sustainable management of the natural and physical resources of New Zealand. There are currently 12 regional councils in New Zealand. Generally, regional councils play some of the critical roles in the implementation of the Resource Management Act. During the assessment of the resource consents, regional councils often undertake a number of processes and considerations particularly the issuance of resource consents. The other roles of regional councils are preparation of regional plans and policy statements, carrying out enforcement actions and monitoring the actual state of the environment and the potential impact of their decisions under the