The cultural background
Both Maori and Western cultures have strong traditions of utilising natural resources. For Maori close relationships with the natural world are part of the interconnected spiritual and ancestral bonds linking people, place, history and identity. Others also have a powerful sense of belonging in New Zealand's natural landscapes.
Traditional uses of native plants and animals and the materials derived from them are important to maintain Maori culture and identity. Use and sustainable management are carefully controlled in a framework of tribal knowledge and systems. Traditional responsibilities of tribal kaitiaki/guardians include taking care not only of the natural resource but of the spiritual dimensions, and passing these taonga/assets on to future
generations. These traditions are continually adapting to modern circumstances and requirements.
Western civilisation's traditions of making use of the natural environment go back tens of thousands of years to cave drawings of hunting scenes, or to the biblical injunction for humans to have authority over the rest of creation. European cultures also had strong pagan traditions linking people with natural cycles and elemental forces.
In recent centuries the consolidation of agriculture, and Europe's expansion into colonies all around the planet, strengthened and spread the predominant Western ethic of utilising nature's bounty for human benefit. Inevitably, when Europeans first arrived in Aotearoa/New Zealand they saw all its resources - timber, whales and seals, birds and land - as things to be made use of and exploited.
The current ethic of valuing and protecting wild natural resources for their own sake, rather than for their usefulness to humans, has evolved only in the last 200 years or so and has only gathered widespread public support since the 1960s.
Believing in the preservation of nature is a reaction against the damage, destruction and losses of recent "development", a recognition of the intrinsic rights of natural species to exist unmolested, and an appreciation of the fundamental values and interconnectedness of all the earth's biodiversity. Environmental organisations today are passionately committed to protecting what remnants of wild nature still survive, and keeping any human interactions within strict controls.
In recent years the harvest mentality has been moderated by the evolving protection ethic, to produce a philosophy of sustainable use. Formally recognised in international agreements and official policies, the concept of sustainability allows for a balance between use and conservation, through careful management and monitoring of the resource.
In New Zealand the Fish and Game Councils are charged with managing the harvesting of introduced exotic animals according to principles of sustainable use - the prolific reproduction rates of exotic game species are a crucial factor compared to slow-breeding native bird species. The Councils report to the Minister of Conservation, but have considerable independence, controlling their own systems, expertise and revenues. Habitat restoration and protection are priorities for long-term viability for game species.
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