ABSTRACT
The New Zealand approach to SEA is intertwined with the statutory framework for land use planning and its practice. In this respect, SEA is not formally prescribed as a mandatory requirement within the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA), the key planning statute that guides the management of most of New Zealand's natural and physical resources. When the Resource Management Act was drafted in the late 1980s, principles and elements of environmental assessment (EA) were deliberately woven into the statute to focus on achieving the beneficial outcomes of project and policy EA rather than enshrining it in legislation (Fookes, 2000). However, as this chapter will demonstrate, features of SEA are easily discernible within both legislation and practice.
