Why a new marine reserves act is required?
The review was prompted by the following problems with the 1971 Marine Reserves Act:
- The 1971 Act preserves areas in their natural state for scientific study. This does not reflect either the marine objectives of the NZ Biodiversity Strategy (NZBS) or that people now value marine reserves for a wider range of benefits that arise from protecting marine life.
- It provides no guidelines for how Treaty obligations would be met.
- It does not include appropriate linkages with recent marine management legislation.
- Some timeframes and processes are vague or not specified, which has contributed to significant delays in decisions being made on reserve applications.