Outcomes and recommendations from workshops to design a survey for monitoring emerging contaminants in New Zealand freshwater

Emerging contaminants (ECs) comprise classes of natural and anthropogenic chemicals that are increasingly detected in the environment especially waterways. The risk of ECs in the environment is recognised as an issue of concern in New Zealand. Environmental managers commissioned two virtual workshops to design a national survey of ECs in New Zealand where the largely primary production-based economy depends upon uncontaminated natural resources and the ecosystem services they provide. Two 2 hour virtual workshops were commissioned to discuss the design of a national survey of ECs in New Zealand’s waterways. The aim of these workshops was to hold initial discussions supporting the design and establishment of a national ECs survey of New Zealand rivers taking consideration of key technical aspects. The Ministry for the Environment and local authorities (regional councils) acknowledged the uncertainty associated with assessing the impacts of ECs on the New Zealand environment and developing protective actions and policy to minimise risk. Environmental managers, regulators research scientists from Australasia and Māori participants agreed that many knowledge gaps remain to fully characterise and assess the hazards of ECs both in New Zealand and globally. The importance of involving Māori is paramount when addressing ECs issues and to develop sustainable solutions incorporating indigenous knowledge and values. A key conclusion was that the large number of potential contaminants requires an approach for ranking ECs. As such, further research is needed to better characterise the type, quantities, sources and fate of ECs in the environment as a first step towards identifying high-risk priority ECs. This would underpin an effective monitoring frameworks and inform policy that will ensure the sustainable management of ECs. It was recognised that collaboration across academic, industry and government organisations is needed to coordinate and conduct effective ECs research by enabling prioritisation and optimisation of the resources and capability.