The future
Island restoration projects in New Zealand are becoming increasingly ambitious and the gains made from them will be increasingly spectacular. As I speak, staff of the Department are attempting the eradication of Pacific rats and Norway rats from Kapiti Island, an extremely rugged island of almost 2000 ha. This island is about 10 times larger than anything we have previously attempted. Completion of this task will provide safe habitat for an array of insects, reptiles, and many species of forest birds. The island receives large numbers of visitors and success of the programme should help emphasise the restoration message.
In sum, such successes have been possible through:
- Public (Crown) ownership of the islands or land on which most of the projects were conducted.
- The existence of a public (crown) agency which has a clear, integrated conservation management mandate.
- Extraordinarily committed and innovative staff.
- Integrated conservation management objectives; good priority setting mechanisms and linkage between development of pest management methods and species recovery objectives through recovery plans.
- Research closely linked with and responsive to management needs plus rapid integration of new technology developments into management processes.
- Sufficient flexibility of approach to enable restricted public access at some restoration sites, but encourage public participation at others. These objectives are identified in conservation management strategies.
- High levels of community support backed up by appropriate Department structures (especially the Kaupapa Atawhai network for linkage with Maori groups).
The new generation of large and complex island and mainland restoration efforts have associated risks. These include the high financial cost and risks of failure and risks of collateral damage to other natural resources. We are now implementing management systems and structural support in the Department designed to make the very best use of the technical expertise we have nurtured in pest management and eradication, species management, and restoration ecology.
The success of the larger and more complex projects of the future will therefore be supported by two components additional to those listed above:
- A quality assurance system for design and management system (Quality Conservation Management) that ensures consist quality and clear accountabilities.
- Departmental structures to ensure that these systems are applied effectively.
With these structures in place, an unambiguous conservation mandate, and support of a conservation conscious public that continues to grow, we should see a new generation of mainland restoration programmes. They could include sand dune areas, wetlands, streams, lowland forest and alpine grasslands. Some of these may be undertaken by the Department of Conservation, but many are likely to be on private land, and undertaken by individuals, community groups, local authorities and Maori groups. We have demonstrated the possibilities and benefits of ecosystem restoration in New Zealand. The next step is to ensure its place on the crest of a new wave of achievements.
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