Appendix two

Approach to Preparation of Sustainable Land Management Strategy for Waiouru Military Training Area (WMTA)

Sustainable management

The WMTA is a substantial piece of Crown land. The New Zealand Army recognises that as the occupier of the land, and notwithstanding the primary military use of the land, it has an obligation to manage its activities in a way which is generally consistent with the "sustainable management" purpose of the Resource Management Act 1991 and the Government's Sustainable Land Management Strategy for New Zealand.

Sustainable management places an emphasis on safeguarding the functioning of natural ecosystems (including the protection of soil and water values), protecting outstanding natural features and landscapes and areas of significant indigenous vegetation and habitats, and generally avoiding or mitigating the adverse effects of activities on the environment.

In addition to being concerned with protection of the resource base, sustainable management is also concerned with managing the use and development of natural and physical resources [see Glossary]. "Natural and physical resources" are defined by the Act to include land, water, air, soil, minerals and energy, all forms of plants and animals (whether native to New Zealand or introduced), and all structures.

Integration of military and conservation objectives

The Army acknowledges that military activities impact on vegetation and soils within the WMTA but it does not view military objectives and conservation objectives as being incompatible or mutually exclusive. In fact, it is the WMTA's combination of natural assets - the landforms, soils, climate and vegetation - that render it an outstanding training area. The Army therefore wishes to retain the natural values of the area. It has come to see itself as part of the ecosystem - both affecting it and being dependent upon it. Consequently, the Army places a high premium on understanding the functioning of the ecosystem(s) and the actions that it needs to take to avoid or minimise adverse effects on natural values.

Focus on vegetation management

Much of the Strategy relates to vegetation management - be it the control of grazing pressure (animal pests, wild horses, domestic animals), weed control, fire control or the control of military activities with the potential to damage vegetation (off-road use of vehicles, shelling activity). The reason for this emphasis is two-fold. First, the volcanic soils of the WMTA are fragile and the climate/altitude is generally inhospitable to plant growth. The close cropping or destruction of vegetative cover exposes the fragile soils to frost and/or wind action and hence erosion. Erosion is not only destructive of natural and aesthetic values, and generally inconsistent with precepts of sustainable management, it also leaves the land unsuitable for ongoing military training activities. Second, the removal of natural vegetation facilitates the encroachment of invasive plant species which, in addition to impacting the natural values of the area, detracts from the value of the area for military training purposes.

Risk management perspectives

The Army considers that the key to sustainable management of the WMTA lies in the identification and prioritisation of environmental risks (potential adverse effects) associated with military activities and other anthropogenic effects (e.g. invasion by introduced plant and animal pests) and the putting in place of policies and methods aimed at minimising the risks while having regard to the particular physical and biological characteristics of different areas or operational zones within the WMTA. For example, if fire is a major source of environmental risk in terms of its potential to lead to erosion and/or to facilitate encroachment of plant pests, and certain types of vegetation are more prone to fire than others, it makes sense to avoid live firing (shelling) into areas with that type of vegetation, if it is possible to do so.

A recent assessment of the environmental effects of shelling activities on the WMTA (Kingett Mitchell & Associates 1999) develops a Geographical Information System (GIS)-based "risk model" and advocates a risk management approach to the future conduct of shelling activities. Some of the recommendations of the report have been incorporated in this Strategy (section 4.2.2).

More generally, the Army sees itself as being involved in a process of developing risk management perspectives on all of its military training and land management activities within the WMTA. Policies and methods will be gradually refined as the results of monitoring and further scientific studies become available.

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