Foreword
From the Minister and Director-General of Conservation
We are pleased to present the Department of Conservation's Statement of Intent for 2004-07. Protecting natural heritage is important for any country. For New Zealand, conservation takes on even greater importance. As a result of long isolation from other landmasses, our country is home to diverse biota including the unique, the ancient and many species threatened with extinction. Our exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is 200 nautical miles (about 370 km) and 15 times our land area, and contains more than 8,000 marine species, including close to 1,000 species of fish. Greater priority has been given to marine conservation in recent years and this will continue.
The department will encourage greater public awareness of the importance of marine conservation and the benefits for marine biodiversity, tourism and recreation, as well as commercial, recreational and customary fishing. The Marine Protected Areas Strategy, when finalised, will guide the department in setting aside new areas as part of a comprehensive network of marine protected areas. Marine reserves will be at the forefront of this work. A number of marine reserve proposals are now well advanced and will be submitted by the department this year for decisions.
Work will continue on improving our understanding of threats to the critically endangered Maui's dolphin and on minimising these threats. With the help of well-managed concessions, flourishing marine mammal populations in our coastal waters have become a key tourism drawcard. As highly mobile species with individual ranges covering vast areas of ocean, marine mammals present special challenges for their conservation. The fishing industry has displayed a willingness to work co-operatively with the department to reduce the industry's impact on marine mammals and also on seabirds. We expect to achieve continued progress in these areas.
Major gains in high country conservation have been achieved in the last year with the protection of the large Molesworth Station as public conservation land, along with a number of other outstanding areas including the 23,700 ha Birchwood Station. The vast tussock grassland ecosystems and landscapes of the eastern South Island are the last large tracts of public land to be separated into areas for conservation management and for commercial uses. Agreements with pastoral lessees will see further substantial areas becoming public conservation land. Tenure review and managing conservation threats to the high country, particularly from weeds, and fostering recreational opportunities will be priorities for the coming years.
The department leads the world in threatened species management and in controlling introduced weeds and pests. The department will improve its reporting on the effectiveness of this work and will further refine its performance measures. Finally, it must be recognised that a quiet green revolution is happening in many regions of the country. Nature tourism and outdoor recreation are becoming economic mainstays in many rural communities based on well-managed protected parks and reserves and on increasing areas of private land. Thousands of businesses depend upon public conservation areas for their income and the department manages more than 3,500 individual commercial concessions. A review of our concessions management aims to improve processing efficiency for applicants and to ensure greater consistency with strategies and plans to strengthen protection of natural and historic heritage.
Hon Chris Carter
Minister of Conservation
Hugh Logan
Director-General
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