Navigation for News Categories
Environment
Featured Environment stories
Sea turtles' favourite Kiwi hangouts revealed
Satellite tags reveal where green sea turtles hang out in New Zealand waters and how far they travel. Audio
-
Nitrate levels still rising in most Canterbury wells
30 October 2026Actions to deal with the problem can take between three and five years to show results, the regional council says.
-
Controversial consent to dump human waste on farmland reviewed due to ’inaccuracies’
30 October 2026Non-notified consent had been granted for a Queenstown Lakes District Council contractor in January.
-
Charity crowdfunds millions to buy historic English estate
30 October 2026Renowned environmentalist David Attenborough backed the campaign to purchase the site, which is as large as central London.
Environment headlines with summaries.
-
Rejected mining application back in fast-track process
30 October 2026Bathurst Resources says it has resubmitted its application to mine Denniston Plateau after addressing EPA concerns.
-
Greens propose bill for greater transparency on drinking water quality
30 October 2026Co-leader Marama Davidson said up to 100,000 people get sick each year from polluted drinking water.
-
21 schools found with elevated drinking water nitrate levels
Elevated nitrate levels above half the legal limit have been linked to serious health outcomes. Audio
-
Dropping aquifer levels in Marlborough linked to falling riverbed levels
29 October 2026Groundwater levels in Marlborough's largest aquifer have been dropping for more than 50 years, with new research linking the decline to falling riverbed levels.
-
Insurance boss wants creative solutions to fund managed retreat
Tower's Paul Johnston says there are "creative solutions" to relocating homes from climate-vulnerable areas. Audio
-
We could soon have our first pest-free mainland town
In recent weeks the Russell Landcare Trust has started removing traps from the bush - not because it has given up the battle, but because in some areas there are no pests left to catch. Audio
-
High hopes for NZ's rarest breeding bird, heading into nesting season
27 October 2026With fewer than 50 birds in total, tara-iti is New Zealand's rarest endemic breeding bird. Our Changing World joins DOC rangers and volunteers prepare what they hope will be safe, successful nesting…
-
Hundreds gather to demand end to bottom trawling in Hauraki Gulf
Advocates say there is no future for sustainable fisheries without ending destructive fishing practices.
-
Native bird spotted in Wellington for first time in 70 years
23 October 2026The Mātātā, or Fernbird, was hard to spot because they spend most of their time inside a canopy of shrubs, Greater Wellington Regional Council said.
-
’Sick and tired’: Trust blocks vehicle access to beach
"We used to go and gather about a dozen sacks of pipi for the marae, and they’re no longer there. They are dying." Audio
-
Waikato ecosanctuary welcomes more kākāpō and giant wētā
There are now five kākāpō at Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari in Waikato, as part of a mainland habitat trial that began in 2023.
-
’Potentially catastrophic’: River changing course years ahead of forecasts
22 October 2026An independent technical advisory group is calling for councils to urgently secure central government funding and prepare for a managed retreat before disaster strikes.
-
Govt announces plans for new commercial oyster farm in Kaipara
22 October 2026It comes as wastewater flowing into the Mahurangi Harbour near Warkworth has been plaguing oyster farmers' ability to harvest.
-
People urged to record calls of endangered wetland bird
22 October 2026There are fewer than 1000 matuku-hūrepo, Australasian bittern's left in the wild and a conservation group is asking New Zealanders to listen out for the bird, and record what they hear. Audio
-
Polluted Lake Ōmāpere should be returned to health within next 10 years
The group working to clean up the largest and most polluted lake in Northland says it is now optimistic about the lake's recovery from an ecological collapse in the 1980s which wiped out most of its…
-
Look out for crash-landing seabirds, community warned
22 October 2026Improvements to street lighting are making a difference, but Kaikōura locals and visitors should still look out for crash landing seabirds.
-
No traces of rats found in part of Raukūmara Forest where population of kiwi live
22 October 2026150,000 hectares of the forest has been poisoned with 1080 as part of a project to save the forest, and the creatures living in it, from pests. Audio
-
Hundreds of tank-like weevils released at secret location
21 October 2026The Canterbury knobbled weevils were thought be extinct before they were rediscovered in the early 2000s, and now more than 200 of the tiny creatures have been released in a secret location. Audio
-
Lake Omapere gets $3 million boost to tackle algal bloom
A toxic bloom last summer turned the lake a lurid green.
-
Flood risk meeting called at Franz Josef Glacier
21 October 2026Meeting comes after the region's Technical Advisory Group reconvened earlier this year to check its 2023 recommendations were still valid.
-
Whakaari/White Island erupts ash, alert level raised
21 October 2026The aviation colour code has also been raised to "orange".
-
Emissions fall as fuel prices deter motorists
Overall, gross emissions fell by 550,000 tonnes and were now lower than they were during the first Covid lockdown.
-
The AI anti-pest tools that could win the war against predators
21 October 2026Homegrown AI tech could propel the country towards our Predator-Free 2050 goal, but only if it becomes cheap enough for local groups to afford it.
-
Taranaki conservation projects convinced AI can be force for good
20 October 2026While it is impossible for humans to be across the whole of NZ monitoring pest control, the latest tech tools can help.
Top News stories
- Men hospitalised after separate stabbings in Hamilton and Ohakune
- Christchurch commuter rail trial gets green light
- 'Either' Chris - Hipkins or Luxon - begged to boost electric vehicle uptake
- Fireworks imports slump as calls grow for sales ban
- Kiwi Ferns overpower Papua New Guinea for World Cup semifinal spot
Subscribe
Get the top 8 headlines each day at 8am with our daily email newsletter.
