Preface
The management plan for Westland Tai Poutini National Park has been reviewed in accordance with the procedures set out in Section 47 of the National Parks Act 1980. This is a statutory document and provides for the management of Westland Tai Poutini National Park in accordance with the General Policies for National Parks and the Act. This is the second review of the original plan published in accordance with the National Parks Act 1952.
A management plan contains detailed objectives and policies for the effective management of the park but does not override the provisions of primary legislation and general policy. The purpose of this plan is to express the Department's overall management intentions for Westland Tai Poutini National Park for the next 10 years. Achievement will be determined by the availability of resources, strategic and business planning and level of community and concessionaire support.
This management plan has been prepared by the West Coast Tai Poutini Conservancy of the Department of Conservation in consultation with the Canterbury Conservancy, representatives from Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, the West Coast Tai Poutini Conservation Board, the Canterbury Aoraki Conservation Board and other interested groups and individuals.
The plan acknowledges mana whenua and tangata whenua status of Ngāi Tahu over their ancestral lands and waters within the park. It acknowledges the Crown's relationship with and obligations to Ngāi Tahu under section 4 of the Conservation Act 1987, provisions of the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998 and the Ngāi Tahu Deed of Settlement 1997. Apart from complying with the provisions of the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998 and the Ngāi Tahu Deed of Settlement 1997, the Department must also comply with section 4 of the Conservation Act 1987. This requires the Department to interpret and administer the Conservation Act 1987 so as to give effect to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi to the extent that the provisions of the Conservation Act 1987 are not clearly inconsistent with those principles. Case law has established that section 4 applies to the Acts listed in the First Schedule to the Conservation Act 1987. The National Parks Act 1980 is one of listed Acts. The plan integrates these acknowledgements at all levels.
Public notice of the intention to review the plan was given on 5 December 1998 and the public were invited to make submissions on the management of the park. As a result 19 submissions were received within the required time-frame and were considered in preparation of the draft management plan.
The draft plan was then notified on 4 December 1999. Four months were allowed for public submissions. A total of 53 submissions were received and 11 submitters were heard in support of their submissions. These submissions were taken into account in the development of this plan.
The plan will be effective for 10 years from the date of approval but may be reviewed at any time as a result of increased knowledge or changes in circumstance.
This plan was approved by the New Zealand Conservation Authority on this 21st day of December 2001.
In 2008, the New Zealand Conservation Authority approved an amendment to the plan to enable the construction of shared cycling/walking pathways within the Franz Josef and Fox Glacier Valleys. Changes in circumstance and general policy resulted in the need for sections 4.3.9, 4.4.17 and the glossary of the plan to be amended. Other sections of the plan (including maps 1-3) also needed to be updated to include several areas of land that have been added to the Park since this management plan was approved. The amendments were made following the standard consultation process set out in Section 47 or the National Parks Act 1980 and took effect on 11 June 2008. They will remain operative for the life of the plan.
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