Exploring the barriers to freshwater policy implementation in New Zealand

ABSTRACT Freshwater policy is driven by interrelated challenges such as declining water quality, urban expansion, and agricultural intensification. But recent research indicates that implementation of policy is less successful than its development. Given recent innovations in New Zealand’s freshwater management and policy, this paper asks, What are the barriers to freshwater policy implementation in New Zealand? Data for this research were gathered through semi-structured interviews with key regional council and unitary authority employees. The research discovered several implementation barriers, such as low government and community capacity and difficulty aligning local policy with national policy. The paper argues that a closed loop between problem identification and responding to problems through planning slows the implementation of freshwater policy. In response, the paper offers a set of recommendations, designed for the New Zealand context, to enable more effective implementation of freshwater policy.