Reducing diffuse air pollution in smaller New Zealand communities.

Many smaller New Zealand towns and cities are affected by high levels of air pollution in winter, with consequent impacts on human health. The main contributor to this air pollution is diffuse emissions of fine particulate matter (PM10) from domestic wood or coal-burning heating systems. Over the past 10-15 years, national and local governments have implemented a range of measures designed to improve human health by reducing this urban air pollution. Our study focuses on the efforts of Canterbury, Waikato and West Coast regional councils to address air quality in smaller towns. All three councils used a range of tools recommended in the Ministry for the Environment’s compliance strategy, including education and financial assistance. The Canterbury Regional Council (CRC) was the only council to use regulatory controls, yet all three airsheds studied appear to be on course to comply with the national PM10 standard by the 2020 deadline. The key to this success seems to be community involvement and public ‘buy-in’. Both the Waikato Regional Council and the West Coast Regional Council have active and ongoing relationships with dedicated community groups, whereas a failure to bring the community fully on board contributed to prolonged delays in the implementation of many of the required interventions by the CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]