2.2 The Department's strategic direction, approaches and outcomes
2.2.1 Strategic direction
2.2.2 Strategic approaches
2.2.3 The outcome
2.2.4 Intermediate outcomes
Taking account of its operating environment, the Department has set its strategic direction for the next decade and beyond. The direction provides the compass setting for the Department to deliver on its statutory responsibilities. The strategic direction states:
New Zealanders want their natural and historical heritage conserved.
In order to foster this commitment to conservation, people must see there is value in it, for itself, and for people's enjoyment and benefit, now and for future generations.
The overarching purpose of the Department is to increase the value that New Zealanders attribute to conservation.
This leads to enhanced care of New Zealand's unique heritage for people to benefit from and enjoy.
To do this:
- The Department will seek to entrench conservation as an essential part of the sustainable social and economic future of New Zealand.
- The Department will be recognised as an effective manager of the lands, waters, species, historic places, and roles entrusted to it.
- The Department will lead, guide, and facilitate conservation gains throughout New Zealand, wherever conservation is most needed.
- The Department will weigh society's values, nature's inherent qualities, and scientific criteria in its decision-making.
- The Department will actively promote outdoor recreation for New Zealanders, especially through fostering recreation, use, and enjoyment on conservation land.
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The Department has identified four strategic approaches that will help deliver its strategic direction in the medium term. These approaches express the style and emphasis the Department will apply to its ongoing work, as mandated by its legislative framework and Government priorities. The approaches also guide the Department's capability development.
The more people know, understand, and experience the full value and benefits of conservation, the more they will support it.
The Department will take the opportunity to promote the value and benefits of conservation in its everyday work, and specifically in its communications and relationship management activities.
As with the first approach, the more people know, understand, and experience the value and benefits of conservation, the more they will support conservation. In this case, the benefits are economic.
The Department will take the opportunity to promote the economic value and benefits of conservation in its everyday work, and specifically in its communications and relationship management activities.
There are two mutually reinforcing factors that make this a priority. First, the 2006 review of the New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy showed that, despite gains made, the task ahead remains immense, and much of New Zealand's threatened biodiversity is outside public conservation lands and waters. Second, New Zealanders are increasingly doing conservation themselves, be they tangata whenua, landowners, councils, or community groups. The need for this collaborative approach applies equally to the Department's work on historic heritage conservation and providing outdoor recreation opportunities.
The Department's culture will be outward looking and responsive. We will recognise and value different perspectives, and work together well.
To continue to make progress in conservation, the Department has to be good at what it does, keep getting better, and work with others to give, receive, and develop knowledge. Testing and applying new tools and techniques are also vital.
The Department will continue to develop its knowledge base, including through working with others to identify mutual interests, and to share expertise and information in the overall interests of conservation.
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The outcome statement expresses the value that the Department works to add over the longer term.
Conserving and managing New Zealand's natural, historic and cultural heritage provides increasing benefit to New Zealanders
An explanation of the long-term outcome and its intent follows.
'Benefit to New Zealanders' encompasses environmental, social, cultural and economic benefits, a range that links the outcome to all three Government themes (economic transformation, families - young and old, and national identity), within the context of sustainability.
Environmental benefits include preserving natural heritage for its own sake and for the benefit of current and future generations. Natural heritage conservation helps to maintain and enhance the country's 'natural infrastructure' (water quality and quantity, soil structures, and flood control), and has a role in mitigating climate change, particularly through carbon storage.
Social benefits include the physical, mental and spiritual benefits people derive from outdoor activities, including doing conservation work, and visiting and/or learning about New Zealand's natural, historic and cultural heritage. People also derive benefit from simply knowing that natural, historic and cultural heritage is conserved, whether or not they experience it first hand.
Cultural benefits include the opportunities that the conservation of places, plants and animals provide for Māori, as tangata whenua, to exercise kaitiakitanga with respect to the natural world and cultural sites, and to maintain and revitalise cultural practices. They include the contributions that conservation makes to 'being a New Zealander', including the benefits of connecting to places and to the past.
Economic benefits include the significant contributions conservation makes to the 'clean green' brand that New Zealand uses on the world stage. This is both in the form of the contributions it makes to our 'natural infrastructure', and through its key role in tourism, which in turn is a major contributor to both the national economy and local economies. There are opportunities for businesses to contribute to conservation as part of reducing their own environmental footprint. Carbon offset projects may also provide economic benefits.
'Increasing' benefit signifies a change in state is required, and increasing benefit to New Zealanders includes increasing New Zealanders' recognition of the values attached to conservation. This in turn will result in more support for conservation activities in the future.
The Department will track progress towards this outcome through the following monitoring.
Tracking changes in native vegetation cover across New Zealand as a whole, by environment type and level of protection
This indicator provides a measure of the 'conservation of natural heritage' aspect of the outcome. It uses the Land Environments of New Zealand (LENZ) database, developed by Landcare Research and managed by the Ministry for the Environment. LENZ maps all of New Zealand's landmass into 20 different types of environment. It uses factors such as climate, landform, and soil properties that are known to be correlated to forest, shrub, and fern distribution. LENZ can therefore provide a good indication of what New Zealand's land-based ecosystems are, and where they are, along with the species that are likely to live there.
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This indicator was reported for the first time in the Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2006, with maps showing (1) the overall changes in New Zealand's native vegetation cover by environment type, and (2) changes in the amount of native cover protected on conservation land by environment type. Threat categories for environment types have been mapped, based on the percentage of vegetation loss, the percentage under legal protection, and the rate of loss of indigenous cover across New Zealand in the last five years.
The next report is due in the Annual Report to 30 June 2009. Thereafter, this indicator will be tracked every five years.
Tracking trends in the benefits New Zealanders seek and receive from the natural, historic and cultural heritage managed by the Department
This indicator provides a measure of the benefits aspect of the outcome. It was first developed as an indicator of the previous appreciation outcome3. The focus is on assessing the connections New Zealanders make between conservation and environmental, social, cultural, and economic benefits. It uses a telephone survey to explore the benefits sought and perceived, and the change over time. It was first reported on in the Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2006. The second report is due in the Annual Report to 30 June 2008.
Tracking the relative value of conservation as an indicator of support for conservation
This indicator was first developed as an indicator of the previous appreciation outcome. The values survey commissioned by the Department in 2006-2007 further developed the indicator and provided a baseline. A conservation values monitor trial has since been developed. The results of this trial will be reported in the Annual Report to 30 June 2008. The indicator will be further developed as a repeatable survey to track changes over time in the value that New Zealanders attribute to conservation.
The Department works towards achieving the outcome through seven intermediate outcomes. These are:
- The ecological integrity of managed sites is maintained or restored.
- The security of threatened species unique to New Zealand, and most at risk of extinction, is improved.
- Examples of the full range of New Zealand's ecosystems are conserved.
- A representative range of historic and cultural heritage is conserved and interpreted.
- New Zealanders increasingly engage in conservation.
- New Zealanders have increased opportunities for recreation and outdoor activities.
- Business opportunities consistent with conservation outcomes are enabled.
These intermediate outcomes are further detailed in section 3.0, which describes the Department's medium-term (3-5 year) operating intentions.
3. The appreciation outcome: "People enjoy and benefit from New Zealand's natural, historic and cultural heritage and are connected with conservation" was in use up until 30 June 2008, after which it is superseded by the single outcome.
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