Developed in New Zealand, 'effects-based planning' is an approach which meets neo-liberal needs of freeing up the market in using environmental resources, while also providing unprecedented levels of public participation in environmental decision-making, a focus on environmental sustainability, and provision for incorporating multi-cultural values. In 1992, much of this New Zealand policy appeared in Agenda 21, thereby making it a model promoted throughout the world. Despite international pressure to adopt this approach, there is currently no comprehensive text explaining the concept and how to implement it. Combining a thorough theoretical guide to effects-based planning with a series of examples of this approach in practice, this book fills the gap in the literature. In addition to a readable analysis of the concept and its implementation, it also provides a critique of the approach in different socio-political and environmental contexts.