Environmental Management Systems Standards
Background
International awareness of the effects of economic growth on the natural resource base has been growing in recent years, and especially since the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Environmental pressures are likely to influence New Zealand agriculture in three ways:
- environmental protection policies in overseas markets may affect imports from New Zealand;
- growing consumer expectations of environmental quality in agricultural products and production systems will increasingly affect demand for New Zealand exports; and
- pressure will continue to grow within New Zealand for agriculture to address the environmental effects of its production systems.
In the 1993 edition of Situation and Outlook for New Zealand Agriculture, we featured an article on developments in international policy dealing with trade and the environment. This article focuses on the development of environmental management systems standards, one of a number of industry initiatives which are under way to address the second topic above, consumer expectations.
Contact for Enquiries
MAF Information Services
Pastoral House
25 The Terrace
PO Box 2526
Wellington, NEW ZEALAND
Fax: +64 4 894 0721
Contact this person
