Why conserve? He kura taiao e hokia. 'A treasured home will always be revisited'
Hei aha te tiaki me te manaaki ? He kura taiao e hokia (A Māori translation of the Introduction)
We conserve and care for places and species because we value them. Their qualities are such that we may be inspired by their beauty, moved by a connection felt with lands or waters, animals or plants, or struck by the intricacies, power and enchanting qualities of living systems.
Many of our species of plants and animals are unique to New Zealand. They are the inspiration for our national icons - like the kiwi and the koru - and, together with the landscape and history, they shape our identity as New Zealanders. However, the islands of New Zealand are vastly changed places when compared with the times before the first humans arrived, and often, conservation has been necessary to prevent the irreparable loss of landscapes or unique plants and animals. Our coastal and marine waters contain many taonga but are also changing in response to pressures from our own shores or beyond. Ultimately, the act of conservation is a proclamation of how highly we as New Zealanders value the outstanding diversity of treasures that still exist here - from the relatively commonplace to the extremely rare; from kereru to kahikatea forest, mudfish to mangrove, Milford Sound to remote seamount, and from hilltop pā to pioneer backcountry hut.
We also value our protected places by recreating in them. Enjoying public conservation lands and waters is a popular activity for many New Zealanders and overseas visitors, and outdoor recreation is often perceived by many to be central to our identity and way of life.
In Māori, the mission and vision statements of the Department of Conservation come together to remind the reader of the proverbial saying 'a treasured home will always be revisited'. A Māori translation of the above Introduction follows:
Hei aha te tiaki me te manaaki ? He kura taiao e hokia
Kei roto i tō tātau ngākau nui ki te pupuri hei tāonga, kei reira te pütake ō te manaaki te tiaki me te whakaute i ngā wāhi whenua me ngā tāonga koiora. Nā te koi ō tō rātou āhua painga, e whakaawe nei tātau te ira tangata ki tō rātou ātāhua, me te whakamīharo ki ngā whakapiringa ki te whenua, ngā waiawa rānei, ngā kararehe me ngā tipuranga rānei, me te kawekawenga ki ngā pikonga, ki ngā kaha, me ngā manarü āhuatanga ō te oranga aonui.
He tino ahurei te tini ō ngā tāonga koiora me ngā kararehe ō Aotearoa. Ko rātou nei te whakaawetanga mō ō tātou pakoko kotahitanga ki Aotearoa - he ōrite ki te kiwi me te koru - tāpiri atu ki te whakanikoniko ō te whenua me ngā hītori, kō rātou nei i hanga tō tātau āhuatanga tangata ki Aotearoa. Ē ngari, kua rerekē te āhua ō ngā moutere ō Aotearoa ki ngā wā ō mua otirā i te taunga mai ō te tangata, i reira ka tino āhei te manaaki me te tiaki kia kore ai e ngaro mō ake tonu atu ngā whakanikonikotanga ā whenua me ngā ahurei tipuranga, kararehe rānei. Kei ō tātou taputai moana me ngā tāpui moana te maha ō ngā tāonga ā Tangaroa engari kei roto i tenei ao ka kitea ake te huri rereke i roto i ngā pehia taumahatanga mai i ō tātoa taputai moana ki ngā taputai moana ō rāwahi. Mutunga mai ko te mahinga i te tiaki me te manaaki i ngā tāonga koia nei te kauhau mō te koi ō tātou ngā iwi ō Aotearoa ki te wāriu i ngā koiora rerengaketanga e mau ana ki tenei whenua - mai i te mea marahea ki te mea tino tāonga, mai i te kererü ki te ngahere kahikatea, ngā ikapoharu ki ngā Mānawa-waikure, Mai Piopiotahi ki te tühāhā wharekāuta moana, me te pā taumata ki te wharekāuta tüwhenua.
Ano tō tātou wariu i ngā wāhi i rāhuitia mei i te tākaro püangi. Ko te hākinakina i ngā whenua me ngā wai i rāhuitia mō te katoa he tino tāonga mō te nā iwi ō Aotearoa me ngā iwi manuhiri ō rāwahi, me te kite ake ō ngā hinengaro ko te hākinakina ki runga i a Papatuanuku he tino mahi koi ki ō tātoa oranga.
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