A recent joint meeting of the Southland and Otago Conservation Boards explored the significant challenges posed by climate change for conservation. Board chairs Tara Druce (Otago CB) and John Whitehead (Southland CB) expressed the shared view of both Boards’ that this issue must be prioritised by the Conservation Boards, DOC, concessionaires and visitors to the conservation estate.

The joint Boards’ workshop considered information relating to the global, national, regional and local impacts and challenges of climate change, including presentations from the Climate Change Commission and from DOC.

The Boards are in agreement that biodiversity must be accorded top priority in the allocation of conservation carbon budgets. As identified recently by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, the Conservation Act clearly states the hierarchy of priorities for the conservation estate with: preservation as top priority, followed by recreation, then tourism. The implications for addressing climate change are clear – tourism activities with high carbon emissions are in conflict with the imperatives of addressing climate change. Innovative approaches are called for, including harnessing the potential of collaboration and partnership.

The conservation estate is a critical contributor to carbon storage. The forests, tussock-lands and wetlands in our National Parks provide an essential service as the lungs of the nation, and maintaining their health is vital. Pest and predator control is an important part of this - reduction of damage to our forests is essential if New Zealand is to maintain, let alone, progress its action on climate change.

The urgency of the challenges associated with climate change was encapsulated in reflections on the February 2020 floods in Milford Sound Piopiotahi and the Hollyford and Dart catchments, leading to the devastation of roads, tracks, huts and other infrastructure, and significant risk to the lives of visitors to the area at that time. Climate projections indicate that such weather events will become more likely, raising complex questions regarding access, infrastructure and activities across vulnerable parts of the conservation estate. The threats of climate change to our indigenous biodiversity are also immense.

The Boards are keen to support DOC in finding effective strategic approaches to address climate change and manage carbon budgets whilst also undertaking the critical work of the preservation and protection of the natural environment for the purpose of maintaining its intrinsic values. This includes the value of carbon sequestering.

The Southland and Otago Conservation Boards’ areas include Mt Aspiring National Park, Fiordland National Park, Rakiura National Park, and the Subantarctic Islands, as well as the other precious conservation areas in the south. The Boards urge all who value and enjoy these areas, for either recreation or commercial purposes, to consider their carbon impact and opt for approaches which ensure that the conservation estate remains healthy and intact for the benefit of future generations.