Conservation Land Management Planning
This Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) assesses options for rationalising both the planning document hierarchy and the processes for updating and approving those documents.

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Summary

The current planning framework is complex, overlapping, and slow to update. Activity on public conservation land (PCL) is regulated through management plans, strategies and national-level policies, many of which overlap in purpose, content and geographic scope. This complexity also constrains the effectiveness of the concessions system, as planning documents do not consistently or clearly set out what activities are permitted or restricted across PCL.

This Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) assesses options for rationalising both the planning document hierarchy and the processes for updating and approving those documents.

Key proposals assessed in this RIS include:

  • rationalising multiple layers of statutory planning documents to reduce duplication and overlapping geographic coverage. This would combine Conservation Management Strategies (CMSs), Conservation Management Plans (CMPs), and National Park Management Plans (NPMPs) into a single layer of area plans
  • replacing the Conservation General Policy and General Policy for National Parks with a single National Conservation Policy Statement
  • clarifying roles and functions for the national policy and area plans, including setting rules, boundaries and guidance governing activities on conservation land (improving the concessions system)
  • enabling ‘class approaches’ to permitting groups/types of common, low-risk activities that can be authorised at a national-level.

Options for streamlining processes for developing, reviewing and updating planning documents include:

  • the Minister of Conservation approving both national and area planning documents
  • an advisory role for the New Zealand Conservation Authority (NZCA) and conservation boards in the development of national and area plans
  • setting timelines for ensuring new/revised area plans are completed within a year
  • establishing processes for discrete and targeted policy change to area plans to keep them up-to-date
  • clearer requirements for consultation with iwi.