1. Introduction Volume One Section 7 contains matters to which the Council must have particular regard to. These include amenity values, kaitiakitanga, quality of the environment, efficient use and development of natural and physical resources, intrinsic values of ecosystems and the benefits from the use and development of renewable energy. Section 8 requires the Council to take into account the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi. To achieve the purpose of the RMA, the Council is required to prepare a range of documents, some of which are mandatory, while others are optional. A regional policy statement, regional coastal plan and district plan are mandatory documents, whereas other regional plans are optional. As the Council is a unitary authority, that is, it has the roles of both a district and a regional council, it is responsible for preparing all of the required RMA policies and plans. The purpose of regional policy statements is set out in Section 59 of the RMA and it is “to achieve the purpose of the Act by providing an overview of the resource management issues of the region and policies and methods to achieve integrated manageme nt of t alhe natur and hysical p resources of the whole reg ion”. The purpose of regional and district plans is to assist the Council in carrying out its functions in order to achieve the purpose of the RMA and specifically for a regional coastal plan, to achieve the purpose of the RMA in relation to the coastal marine area. Changed resource management framework Previously, the Council has had a separate regional policy statement and two geographically- based coastal, district and regional plans (the Marlborough Sounds Resource Management Plan and the Wairau/Awatere Resource Management Plan). In Section 79(1) of the RMA there are requirements set out for when regional policy statements and plans are to be reviewed. These documents may be reviewed either in part or in full; the Council undertook a full review of the Marlborough Regional Policy Statement 1995 and the Marlborough Sounds and Wairau/Awatere Resource Management Plans in accordance with Section 79(4) of the RMA. In undertaking a statutory review of these documents, the Council has opted to combine all three into a single Marlborough Environment Plan (the MEP). This approach is enabled through Section 80 of the RMA. The intention is to provide a simplified and more streamlined resource management framework for all users. More detail on the approach is set out in Chapter 2 - Background but overall the framework: • describes how we as a community want the natural and physical assets of Marlborough to be managed; • provides a coherent view on how our coasts, freshwater resources, rural areas, towns, natural habitats, etc and their interrelationships should be managed; • influences the actions of individuals and the actions of the Council; and • manages the actions of all resource users. Guiding principles The Council used guiding principles in the development of the objectives, policies and methods throughout the chapters of the MEP. These principles are the philosophy and values that underlie the content of the MEP but do not in themselves have specific objectives, policies or methods. Quality of life comes from interactions between individuals, the community and their surroundings. The wellbeing of people and communities is indicated by the quality of life available to them. This includes the provision of food, shelter and clothing, economic prosperity through job and business opportunities, health and safety, spiritual and cultural freedom and the qualities and characteristics of the environment they live in. Maintaining or enhancing the wellbeing of people 1 – 2