Conservationists abhor ’bureaucrat hijacking’

Press, 12 February 1986, Page 24

Conservationists abhor ’bureaucrat hijacking’

By

OLIVER RIDDELL

in Wellington The conservation movement is worried that bureaucrats are “hijacking” the re structuring of environmental administration. They say the working party report which led the Government to announce the new structure last year has been buried. Already the Government had been persuaded by bureaucrats to make decisions which contradicted its earlier policy and the report recommendations.

At a meeting early in February, six conservation groups met — Environment and Conservation Organisation, the Environmental Defence Society, Federated Mountain Club, Greenpeace, the Native Forests Action Council, and the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society. They recommended that the new Department of Conservation be told to emphasise its stewardship

concept: “To promote the protection of the nation’s natural and historic heritage; to manage protected areas; and to hold in

stewardship other parts of the Crown estate for which there has been no final allocation to protection or production, or which are leased without right of freehold.” They want the department’s "conservation management” role replaced with a "stewardship” function which emphasises protecting natural character rather than a sustainable production.

Wood production should be excluded from the functions of the Department of Conservation. But it, instead of the proposed Forest Corporation, should have responsibility for wild animal control and fire-fighting. The group of six wanted the proposed Crown Estate Commission to report to a Cabinet committee, which includes the Ministers for the Environment and Conservation. They also wanted a separate commission to deal

with harbours and foreshores.

All rural lands under leases, licences or permits without the right of freeholding, and all unalienated Crown land including land development blocks not being used mainly for farming and forestry, should be administered by the Department of Conservation as “stewardship lands,” they said.

Native forests should be administered by the Department of Conservation, except areas gazetted as indigenous sustained yield sawlog production areas. Sale areas needed to meet contractual commitments for timber from State forests should be leased to the Forestry Corporation until 1990, and thereafter held by the Department of Conservation.

They said all publicly owned lands allocated to the Forestry and Lands Corporations should be held on lease from the Crown.