NATIONAL PARKS NATIONAL TREASURES

Forest and Bird, Volume 19, Issue 3, 1 August 1988, Page 21

NATIONAL PARKS NATIONAL TREASURES

n 1987/88 New Zealand celebrated the first 100 years of its national parks. Since the gifting of Tongariro National Park in 1887 by Tuwharetoa chief Te Heuheu Tukino, a further 11 parks have been added to the system. In that time too, the bush wren, native thrush, the laughing owl and the huia have become extinct, and many other birds have disappeared from the mainland. A huge area of native forest has been destroyed since then, causing many plants to become extinct as well. We must set aside national parks and reserves if we are to keep some of New Zealand in a natural state. What is a National Park? A national park is a relatively large area (at least 10,000 hectares) that contains scenery of such distinctive quality, ecological systems or natural features so beautiful, unique, or scientifically important that their preservation is in the national interest. They are sometimes referred to as New Zealand's natural ‘‘crown jewels’’ because they are regarded as the most special of our natural areas. Some of New Zealand's national parks, such as Fiordland and Mt Cook/ Westland are so important that they have been put on the World Heritage List, joining world famous areas such as the Grand Canyon and Mt Everest National Park. But national parks are not just magnificent mountains and spectacular lakes; they can also contain wetlands and shrublands. Why do we need them? It is a sign of a nation’s maturity when it decides to set aside areas as national parks. We create them for two main purposes: firstly, they are meant to protect the plants, animals and landscapes of an area forever. Secondly, they are places where people can enjoy themselves, whether tramping, picknicking, skiing, canoeing or bird watching. National parks are also used for environmental education and scientific research. Researchers have also found out that people don’t even have to visit national parks to appreciate them. These people feel secure that national parks are there, protecting the environment for future generations. New Zealand has many confusing types of parks. Their overall name is ‘‘protected natural areas’ and they could be any of the following: National park, nature reserve, scenic reserve, ecological area, conservation park, scientific reserve, wildlife reserve, historic reserve, maritime parks, wilderness areas.

The Government is reviewing the different types of park and soon there should be fewer names to describe them. However, it is certain that the internationally recognised title ‘National Park’ will survive this review. New Zealand's first National Park Tongariro National Park, in the centre of the North Island, was gifted in 1887, 15 years

after the world’s first national park, Yellowstone, was created. Since then 11 other parks have been added to the national park system. The last was Paparoa National Park, in 1987. Appropriate activities What can people do in a national park? Because we established them mainly to protect an area’s natural features, we don't

NATIONAL PARKS

allow people to do things which may be damaging to the environment. So you don't see football grounds or supermarkets in the middle of them. Mining or logging are not appropriate activites in national parks. In some New Zealand parks we allow cattle grazing, although this damages the environment too. Even tourism can be a problem if not properly controlled. In Wilderness Areas there are rules against building tracks and huts, or even allowing aeroplanes flying overhead, so that people who go into these remote areas can enjoy them with as few modern comforts as possible. How much of New Zealand is in Parks? 2.5 million hectares, or 9 percent of New Zealand's land area is in national parks. The Conservation Department, which administers parks, has direct responsibility for about 30 percent of New Zealand's land surface. Problems facing Parks National Parks don’t always remain parks forever. If a government wanted to, it could pass a law revoking national park status for an area, although it would be a very unpopular move. Lack of funding is a problem. In 1987 the Department of Conservation spent about $10 million looking after national parks and reserves. For comparison the Government is proposing to buy four Navy frigates, at a cost of at least $300 million each! Introduced plants and animals threaten many of our pristine natural areas. For example, wild pine trees have been discovered growing up the flanks of Mt Ruapehu, and the plant Old Man's Beard has destroyed many small reserves by strangling trees. Deer, possums, thar (a Himalayan mountain goat), goats, wallabies are well known for their ability to eat out certain native plants. Rats, ferrets and stoats prey on our defenceless native animals, especially flightless birds such as the takahe, kakapo and black stilt. Some of our parks have been described as ‘‘fun parlours’’ because more time is spent on catering for people, eg. skiing, than looking after the natural values. Some developers promote such projects as gondolas which might damage the environment and spoil other people’s enjoyment of the national park. Most people do not like to see mechanical contrivances in national parks and want them to remain in a wilderness state as much as possible. Why we need more Parks Most of our national parks are in mountain-

ous regions such as Mt Cook and were never wanted for farming or forestry. However, the great lowland forests that used to cover much of the country are now largely gone, and it is important that those remaining are included in national parks. That is because they are biologically very rich and many plants and animals live in them. A good example is South Westland, where the last vestiges of our once huge kahikatea estate remain. Threatened birds such as kaka are found in relatively plentiful numbers in these forests. Our national park system should be enlarged, to include representative areas of many wetlands, the vast tussocklands of the eastern South Island and marine areas throughout New Zealand. You will also find that most of our national parks are a long

way from our major cities; therefore we need to create more reserves close to cities so people don't have to travel too far to enjoy the outdoors. # National Parks Tongariro (1887, 79,000 ha) Egmont (1900, 33,500 ha) Urewera (1954, 213,000 ha) Whanganui (1986, 79,000 ha) Abel Tasman (1942, 22,500 ha) Nelson Lakes (1956, 102,000 ha) Paparoa (1987, 30,000 ha) Arthur's Pass (1929, 94,497 ha) Westland (1960, 117,550 ha) Mt Cook (1953, 70,000 ha) Mt Aspiring (1964, 287,000 ha) Fiordland (1905, 1.2 million ha)