DOC asks the public: have we got our conservation strategies right?

Date:  26 June 2013

The Department of Conservation (DOC) is asking the public to have their say on its management of recreation and our natural and historic heritage in the south and eastern South Island.  

DOC has today released its draft Conservation Management Strategies (CMS) for Canterbury, Otago and Southland. These will guide DOC’s management of conservation land, wildlife, cultural heritage and recreation in these areas for the next 10 years.  

DOC Planning Manager Dave Newey says feedback from Ngāi Tahu, conservation boards, interest groups and the public has already helped shape the direction of these draft strategies. “We now want to know if we’ve got it right,” says Dave. 

“This is a once-every-ten-years opportunity to have a say over issues that are very close to many peoples’ hearts—such as mountain biking in Fiordland, engaging Christchurch in conservation and preserving Otago’s wetlands.” 

The new strategies reflect national management priorities for ecosystems, wildlife and recreation. They show how DOC is focusing on these priorities at a regional level and how this fits with the places and values important to communities. 

“DOC is committed to working in partnership with the community to halt the ongoing decline of New Zealand’s biodiversity,” says Dave. 

“These strategies cover a large area of the South Island, from the places where we live, such as the Otago and Banks peninsulas, to the places where we play, including Aspiring, Aoraki and Fiordland national parks. It’s your heritage, have your say.” 

Members of the public can view the three draft CMS on the DOC website at www.doc.govt.nz/cms. This webpage also includes a submission form and information on how people can make a submission. The submission process is open until 13 September 2013.    

Further information

A conservation management strategy (CMS) is a statutory document that provides strategic direction for the Department’s management of public conservation land integrating legislation, policy, strategic goals over a ten-year period. It aims, through conversations with communities, to show how natural, historic and cultural heritage of regional and local importance fit into the national context. 

A CMS also:

• identifies how to integrate management of places to achieve national conservation outcomes;
• clarifies priorities for management of conservation resources;
• guides decision making (e.g. on applications to undertake commercial activities);
• describes conservation outcomes to be achieved;
• sets out a framework to increase conservation efforts over the next decade recognising that the department cannot do it alone.

Each draft CMS has been prepared by DOC in consultation with the relevant conservation board, Ngāi Tahu and the community.

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