Without checks and balances, “we could see things like helicopter landings in remote areas of the Darran Mountains in Fiordland,” Richard Capie said.
Photo: Flickr / druclimb / CC BY-NC 2.0

Forest and Bird fears a government proposal could lead to a sale of protected land.

THE the government has just published a proposal to “modernize New Zealand’s conservation management system”.

The aim, he says, is to reduce red tape, maximize profits from commercial activity on protected public land and facilitate the transfer or exchange of whenua.

The project would also give the minister more powers to decide the fate of the succession.

The Department of Conservation (DOC) is the largest land manager in the country with an area of ​​8.7 million hectares, including 15,000 kilometers of tracks.

In a previous briefing to the minister, the DOC said it was managing more assets than it could afford and its funding had not kept pace.

Forest and Bird advocacy general manager Richard Capie said Checkpoint New Zealand did need to make changes to the way protected land was managed and some of the proposals wisely sought to streamline the process.

“But we also need to remain focused on improving conservation and biodiversity and what the Government announced this morning is more about the commercialization of protected public land and, in fact, is very clear about how conservation will be improved.”

There were also some red flags in the details of the proposal and fast-track decision-making did not work in the conservation area, he said.

“Right now we have something called the New Zealand Conservation Authority and independent expert conservation decision-makers, who make decisions on the plans, so they actually act as a brake and The balance to ensure that some of the key decisions that are made about what we’re going to do with our protected public lands are carefully thought through – we don’t want faster decision-making on this project.

The proposals wanted to take principles such as those used in the Ruataniwha Dam project and apply them more widely to protected land, he said.

Capie said the DOC budget was cut earlier this year and we were in the middle of a biodiversity and climate crisis.

“In the discussion paper, the minister talks about three to four billion dollars in revenue from tourism on protected public lands, and yet we are massively underfunding this sector.

“The way to finance it is to do it properly and not by handing the land over to the highest bidder.”

By giving ministerial decisions on things like area plans and amenity zones, it risks seeing large-scale rezoning of protected land become more permissive, he said.

“If we don’t have these checks and balances in place with a group of independent experts, we could see things like helicopter landings in remote areas of the Darran Mountains in Fiordland.”

Choices must be made, but the key word is conservation, which means taking care of biodiversity, he said.

“We absolutely need to invest in this area, but you don’t invest in it by whipping it.”

It is possible to allow changes in business activity, but it must be done in the right place and in the right way, he said.

Environmental Defense Society policy director Raewyn Peart said the conservation system was no longer fit for purpose and the government’s proposal was a welcome first step towards modernizing it.

But the company had concerns, she said.

“The proposal to facilitate the exchange of protected land is somewhat concerning and requires further consideration. Any exchange must be subject to robust considerations and should not include land with high conservation values,” he said. -she declared in a press release.

“There is an urgent need for more money for conservation and EDS supports in principle some pricing of access. However, the details will need to be carefully considered to ensure New Zealanders are not excluded from the access to conservation areas.”

In a statement, Aotearoa Tourism Industry chief executive Rebecca Ingram said there was a lot to digest in the proposals.

This would involve getting the opinions of its members before presenting a proposal, she said.

“It is very important that the review of access pricing also recognizes that the international visitor fee now stands at $100 and will generate tens of millions of dollars in funding for conservation and visitor management on the protected area.”

The public has until February 28, 2025 to vote on the government’s proposal.

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