The Legislative Basis for the New Zealand Conservation Authority (NZCA) submission

1. The New Zealand Conservation Authority / Te Pou Atawhai Taiao o Aotearoa
   (Authority, NZCA) was established under the Conservation Act 1987 (Act), with
   members appointed by the Minister of Conservation. It is an independent statutory
   body with a range of functions, but primarily acts as an independent conservation
   advisor to the Minister and the Director-General of Conservation.
2. The Authority has a role as an objective advocate on matters of national significance
   and interest in the conservation arena and to provide high quality independent advice
   to the Department of Conservation (Department, DOC) on its strategic direction and
   performance.
3. The Authority has a range of powers and functions, under the Act, as well as under
   other conservation related legislation. Section 6C(2)(c) of the Act provides the
   Authority with the power to “advocate the interests of the Authority at any public forum
   or in any statutory planning process.
4. Following the logic of the above powers and functions, the Authority submits on the Department’s Marine protection proposals for the Hauraki Gulf.

NZCA Submission on the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill

5. NZCA strongly supports the Purpose of the Act, namely “to contribute to the restoration of the health and mauri of the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana by (a) establishing new marine protected areas within the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana; and (b) acknowledging customary rights within seafloor protection areas and high protection areas."
6. We acknowledge the considerable work that has resulted in this legislation and that it has been guided by two overarching goals:
   • Effective kaitiakitanga and guardianship in the Gulf
   • Healthy functioning ecosystems that:
     • underpin the wellbeing and prosperity of people who live, work and play in the Gulf
     • sustain healthy fisheries that replenish and enhance the pātaka kai (food basket) for customary, recreational and commercial uses
     • regulate, support and sustain the Gulf, and
     • support resilient and diverse habitats and marine life.

NZCA supports:

7. • a) the establishment of 12 Highly Protected Areas (“HPAs”) to protect and enhance marine habitats and ecosystems while providing for the customary practices of mana whenua; and,
   • b) the creation of 5 seafloor protection areas (“SPAs”) to help address the negative
     impacts of activities that damage important biogenic habitats in the Hauraki Gulf.
8. We also support the establishment of new marine reserves that are extensions to the
   existing Cape Rodney–Okakari Point Marine Reserve and the Whanganui A Hei
   (Cathedral Cove) Marine Reserve
9. There are gaps in current knowledge about marine species, habitats, and ecosystems
   in the region, and about some parts of the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana. As a
   consequence, it is likely that some of these ecosystems/habitats may not be well
   represented in the 12 HPAs listed in the Bill. In addition, there are many stressors
   confronting marine ecosystems and the rate of change in environmental variables
   (e.g., marine heat waves, ocean acidification, and the increased frequency and
   intensity of storm events) is increasing. The legislation needs to keep the door open for
   both changes and additions. We are in an era of rapid environmental change - and the
   legislation needs to allow for nimble responses and adaptive management.
10. The NZCA submits that there need to be clear pathways identified by which additional
    areas can be proposed and assessed to add to the HPAs, without having to wait for
    additional legislation. If new areas are to be recognised it is important that the
    proposals are based on the best available information, including mātauranga Māori,
    and are developed collaboratively with whānau, hapū, and iwi that exercise
    kaitiakitanga in the proposed protected area; and that there is opportunity and
    adequate time for members of the public to make submissions on changes and/or
    additions to HPAs.
11. The purpose of HPAs is to “protect, restore, and enhance biodiversity within the
    HPAs”. NZCA considers it would be useful to also emphasise that this is focused on
    indigenous biodiversity and should also include reference to ecosystem functions (i.e.,
    “protect, restore, and enhance indigenous biodiversity, habitats and ecosystem
    functions within the HPAs”).
12. The purpose of SPAs is to “maintain and restore benthic habitats”. NZCA considers
    that reference to indigenous biodiversity and ecosystem functions is also needed here
    (“maintain and restore indigenous biodiversity and ecosystem functions associated
    with benthic habitats”).
13. At present the Bill does not require the development of biodiversity objectives for HPAs
    or SPAs. The NZCA considers that for the HPAs and SPAs to succeed, it is critical that
    the biodiversity objectives are mandatory, and that they are established for each of the
    designated areas to be locally appropriate, and that further, they are part of an
    integrated and coherent network of biodiversity objectives for the Gulf as a whole. The
    NZCA submits that the ecological and biodiversity values and objectives that are
    being sought (such as protecting sensitive and representative habitats, preventing
    extinctions, building more resilient coastal communities and ecosystems that are better
    able to withstand pressures and threats, and maintaining ecosystem services) need to
    be identified for the whole region.
14. Coupled with biodiversity objectives, conservation management objectives (involving
    customary interests, research needs, and habitat restoration steps/interventions, if
    locally appropriate) also need to be developed for each HPA to enable monitoring of
    progress and to inform where objectives for the Gulf as a whole require further
    attention/mechanisms to achieve Gulf-scale protection.
15. These objectives are essential for a number of reasons, including enabling evaluation
    of whether certain activities should be allowed within an HPA or SPA – whether the
    proposed activity will be consistent with the biodiversity objectives before permits are
    granted.
16. The development of the objectives needs to be informed by the best available
    information, including mātauranga Māori. The objectives should be developed
    collaboratively with whānau, hapū, and iwi that exercise kaitiakitanga in the proposed
    protected area, as well as with public input.
17. The biodiversity objectives must be linked to monitoring to evaluate the effectiveness
    and outcomes of establishing the HPA and SPA protection tools. The evaluations will
    provide useful evidence to inform management practices and may reflect the need for
    changes in the boundaries or extent of areas.
18. To achieve effective management there need to be resources to support research that
    addresses information gaps and monitoring to enable evaluation of the effectiveness of
    the protection mechanisms. These streams of information and analysis need to be fed
    into the management framework so that, if necessary, protection mechanisms can be
    modified if needed to achieve the desired objectives and vision for the Gulf.
19. While Clause 68 stipulates the requirement for a review of the operation, effectiveness,
    and management of the HPAs and SPAs to be initiated within 25 years of the
    commencement of the Act, feedback from the monitoring programme needs to be
    used to inform management practices on more immediate time frames (e.g., 2-5
    years). In addition to enabling adaptive management approaches, this will also enable
    members of the community to be informed of progress and connect to the outcomes of
    the protection initiatives being enabled through this legislation.
20. The NZCA submits that stronger provisions to limit seafloor contact must be included.
    While the NZCA supports the proposed SPAs, we do not consider these go far
    enough. The Authority is deeply concerned by the negative impacts of fishing methods
    that contact the seafloor and damage benthic ecosystems such as bottom trawling,
    Danish seining, and dredging. The impacts of such methods are very clearly
    demonstrated by the terrible damage wrought by the dredging of the subtidal beds of
    mussels from the early 1900s to the 1960s that destroyed biogenic habitats and
    resulted in a major ecosystem change to the seafloor of the Hauraki Gulf. We consider
    that all fishing methods and activities that result in impacts on the seafloor and benthic
    communities (e.g., bottom trawling, dredging, Danish seining) should be excluded from
    the Gulf. The negative impacts of bottom impact fishing methods on the life and
    productivity of the Gulf have been profound - with loss of ecosystem functions and
    ecosystem health.
21. SPAs are fisheries management tools and they do not meet marine protection criteria,
    such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Marine Protection
    Area standards, or the Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures (OECM). It
    is important that SPAs are not included in the way in which New Zealand reports its
    marine protection to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the World
    Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA). The NZCA is concerned that including
    SPAs in reporting of marine protection will undermine the work that has been done to
    ensure that New Zealand is reporting marine protection appropriately and will set an
    unacceptable precedent.
22. We also consider that including reference to the 4 cable protection zones (CPZs) in the
    Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is potentially confusing and significantly inflates the figure
    used to describe the benthic area in the Gulf that is protected. These so-called Type 2
    marine protected areas are not able to be managed, restored, or enhanced and thus
    are not a protection tool like the HPAs – they are merely remaining untouched.

Integrated Management

In the view of NZCA, wider management of the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana needs to reflect
the interconnectedness of marine and terrestrial/freshwater systems and integrated
protection at appropriate scales. There are multiple stressors affecting marine life in the
Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana that are not addressed through this legislation – such as
nutrient enriched terrestrial run-off, pollution, sediment discharges as a consequence of poor
land and freshwater management. Until these wider issues are addressed, marine protection
for the Hauraki Gulf/ Tīkapa Moana will not be able to be fully realised.