A time to perform

Forest and Bird, Volume 23, Issue 1, 1 February 1992, Unnumbered Page

A time to perform

National President

Gordon Ell

NCREASINGLY conservation-minded people are expressing frustration with the bureaucracy of conservation. The delays in conducting public inquiries and in gazetting national parks and reserves are major cases in point. Where is the result of the much-delayed public investigation into the proposed Northland kauri national park which was due before the Conservation Authority in November 1990? What has happened to the Tongariro/Erua conservation park which has been awaiting gazettal since promised by the Government in 1985? Why have the proposed reserves of the West Coast Accord, agreed to in 1986, never been gazetted? Why have successive administrations not acted on the recommendation of the former National Parks and Reserves Authority that Waitutu State Forest be added to Fiordland National Park? Few sectors of society would tolerate the interminable delays in decision-making that have become commonplace in conservation. The delays are not caused by the important exercise of public consultation but in the administration of the process and in the implementation of the outcomes. Admittedly Maori claims to the ownership of some Crown land have been a complication in the investigation of the kauri national park. Originally envisaged and timetabled in 1987 as a 1990 sesquicentennial gesture, this national park was first delayed through a failure in the consultative process by which the Department of Conservation felt bound to pre-consult with Maori about the need for an investigation. From this process it was agreed to extend the usual period of public participation to nine months to allow the department the extra time it wanted to hold full consultations with the various tribes. Conservationists accepted this as a proper procedure but the department did not hold the promised meetings promptly. Indeed it is believed that only one of the 12 hui was held in the nine months timetabled and the remainder have been held since the public process was completed last April. These subsequent months which were supposed to involve further public debate over the conclusions have produced neither discussions, conclusions nor recommendations. The suggestion that this matter may not be reviewed by the Conservation Authority for a further year is not acceptable. The making of parks and reserves is a legal process but need it take so long? There is growing evidence that many of the delays are not necessary. Forest and Bird will now be concerned to see that the two years already allowed for the investigation. and inquiry into the proposed north-west Nelson national park not be stretched out further. This investigation has already involved reallocating departmental resources and further delayed the investigation into national park status for the forests of southern South Westland. When resources are said to be few then choices must obviously be made. But for how long can we afford to avoid taking final action? Many concerned conservationists believe that the Department of Conservation needs to develop a greater will to achieve. The excuses of changing times, reorganisations, tight budgets and political difficulties are beginning to sound just that — excuses. Times may be tough but nothing would succeed for them, in the eyes of the tax-paying public, like more successes in their statutory role as advocates for conservation.

The opinions of contributors to Forest & Bird are not necessarily those of the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society.