Beginning again in humility

Forest and Bird, Volume 17, Issue 1, 1 February 1986, Page 18

Beginning again in humility

by

Peter Hooper

he pressure of human need upon en- -. vironment has been with humanity since ancient times: deforestation, the silting of rivers, fire, monoculture exhausting soils. For modern man it was the industrial revolution in western Europe two centuries ago which, in its hunger for fuels and metallic ores, flayed alive significant areas of the fragile lithosphere. In our own time reaction has come. From initially setting aside tracts of habitat for the hunting of wild animals, we have come to understand, with the aid of science, that landscape must be protected for its own sake. This is an enormous extension of ethical comprehension. In terms of self interest, it is only commonsense that we should care for the life support systems of earth upon whose communities our Own survival depends. Following that recognition came a period of conflict between thinking entrenched in exploitative processes and new claims to rescue and restore wounded environments. Here in New Zealand, as elsewhere, the drama has been enacted.

In 1981, when my essay Our Forests Ourselves was published (John McIndoe), I wrote with cautious optimism: ‘‘In the course of this essay I have endeavoured to trace the outlines of how, over 150 years, the European invasion of New Zealand affected our landscape. The imposition of an alien culture in no way related to the indigenous people of the land itself produced attitudes of mind which blinkered New Zealanders for generations to the real opportunities before them. Time alone could remove those blinkers, and is now doing so." At that time I could not have expected that within four years a Government would decide to establish a Department of Conservation, that the principle of a nature conservancy as enunciated in the Maruia Declaration of 1975 would be within the bounds of reality. The late seventies saw widespread apathy and cynicism about future direction in New Zealand, and against this background it was not obvious that revolutionary environmental values were taking root. The untiring work of thousands of dedicated

activists at many levels in groups throughout the country helped to promote Labour’s 1984 election promise to establish a department of conservation. The Cabinet decision on 16 September last to do just that will be recognized as one of the great decisions in the history of our relationship with our country. A wheel has come full circle: after a century and a half of European impact, Aotearoa has been assured of the stewardship her remaining natural landscapes have long needed. The decision is of international importance and will be widely acclaimed as such. There is no force on earth that can prevail against a great idea whose time has come. To quote again from Our Forests Ourselves: ‘‘The time has come, not to forget, but to forgive ourselves the past, to begin again in humility to relate to our land. Nature is not ours to ‘conquer’ but a community in whose life we share."’ The richness of that community is spelled out by the Government decision to include within the ambit of the new Department all national parks, reserves, wildlife, wild and scenic rivers, historic places, protected inland waters, protected indigenous forests, forest parks and other multi-ple-use state forest areas not required for wood production. Specifically, as steward and protector of such lands, the Department will not be confronted with the problem that for so long beset the Forest Service in endeavouring to meet some conservation requirements while giving its main energies to the management of forests for timber production. Some have seen this as ‘locking up’ natural lands, ignoring that such provision will ensure water and soil protection (with consequent downstream benefits), biological conservation, outdoors recreation and tourism, and most importantly, handing on to succeeding generations their

heritage of natural space and beauty for the growth of body, mind and spirit. Between developers and conservationists there had long been energy wasted in conflict. The time has come now for a reconciliation of attitudes. The efficiency of commercial state operations should be able to proceed within clearly defined limits. Conservationists within Governments invariably saw top jobs go to develop-ment-oriented officers, but will now see their own careers open to promotion within the Department of Conservation. It is appropriate to note that during the heat of controversy over past years conservationists have not always felt it politic to acknowledge progressive work that was done within the purview of the department of Lands and Survey, the aegis of the Forest Service and the Wildlife Service. It is timely to acknowledge such contributions to public education that have helped to redeem past errors and make possible a new understanding of land care. Among the architects of the final victory substantial credit must go to Dr Michael Cullen who made sure that the idea of a nature conservancy became Labour Party policy; and Russell Marshall and Phillip Woollaston who set up the Environment Forum and the Working Party, and then travelled the country expounding principle and practice. I can think of no other modern popular movement in New Zealand which has generated more enthusiasm and commitment to a great cause than has the cause of environmental protection over the past decade. It has been a rich experience to have shared in that great upwelling of democratic energy, determination and hope that brought together workers and students, men and women old and young, farmers, academics and unemployed. They talked incessantly, wrote thousands of submissions to endlessly proliferating committees, they took to the streets, lobbied

Officials, tramped the length and breadth of the country, sang, sweated, and were often disheartened — but they did not give up. In the hour of victory, some will see new opportunities for service in channels now being opened: more careers in existing parks and reserves and their ancillary services for tourism. Most specifically for the Maori people will be the Conservation Department's responsibilities for the protection of some coastlines and foreshores, especially in Northland.

While with respect to indigenous forests the Department's powers will be all that could be wished for, the same cannot be said of all other natural habitats. High country tussock grasslands (subject to pastoral leases) could be administered by a commercial corporation although final decisions had not been made at the time of writing. There are other areas of non-for-ested Crown lands where practice has not

yet been clarified, including land development blocks and also coastal waters. A new concept of land stewardship has yet to be enshrined in law and seen to work in practice. Conservationists must not assume that all the problems have been overcome; a substantial body of opinion still needs convincing that a nature conservancy will in the long run serve the health and wellbeing of the whole country and all its people. Some years ago one of Colin McCahon’s paintings bore the legend: ‘’A land with too few lovers.’’ 1 am sure that McCahon himself would gladly see the comment relegated to history. Once again in their own land New Zealanders can stand tall. In spite of domestic problems of social and racial inequities, wanton violence, and reactionary dogmas, it is possible today to admit of ideals becoming practical realities in a way that was not possible even two or three years ago. There is a new spirit abroad, a new pride in being a New Zealander, in standing up for values that need championship: concern for social justice beyond as well as within our borders; a facing up to unpopularity in making a stand against nuclear weapons. The role played by women in the conservation movement has been incalculable, and in itself a thrust towards the establishment of a Ministry of Women’s Affairs. We Shall Overcome, the folk song popularized by Joan Baez in the sixties, was lost to sight in the seventies. In a real sense, we can affirm the words again today. We are not helpless spectators of our

own fate. We have proved that we can change our world for the better. A sense of unity is no longer an exercise in self-de-ception, it is a reality.

An holistic vision of society as a healthy organism within the natural environment already stirs to life in Aotearoa. Tokomaha nga ahuatanga o te whenua. Tiakina. The land has many forms. Look after it well. With humility, we know that we have begun. Peter Hooper is a fulltime writer who lives near Greymouth. He has had a longtime interest in conservation and is at present the national councillor for the society’s West Coast branch. gt