General Policy for National Parks provides guidance for managing national parks - the jewels of New Zealand’s public conservation lands. They are places that have been set aside for their intrinsic worth and for the benefit, use and enjoyment of the public.
Each national park requires a management plan which is developed in consultation with the public. The New Zealand Conservation Authority’s role is to adopt statements of general policy to guide the preparation of such plans.
The 2005 General Policy for National Parks replaces the 1983 policy which served national parks well and the essence of the old policy has been retained. An important consideration in the 2005 General Policy was to provide for more appropriate recognition of the interests of tangata whenua in national parks.
The policies in the General Policy ensure that consideration will always be given to the appropriate balance between the preservation of native plants and animals, the welfare in general of national parks, and the rights of the public to access and enjoy these special places. Each park has its own unique characteristics which affect where public use will be encouraged and where it will be controlled – amenities areas on the one hand and wilderness and specially protected areas on the other are the extreme ends of the spectrum.
The bottom line, of course, is that national parks are preserved and maintained in perpetuity. We must be ever vigilant to ensure that this basic tenet is not massaged or eroded.
The policies set out in the General Policy are directed to the attainment of that objective.
Kerry Marshall
Chairperson, New Zealand Conservation Authority
4 May 2005