Who's Responsible?

Forest and Bird, Issue 294, 1 November 1999, Page 3

Who's Responsible?

Dr

Wellington

Michael Harte,

While Keith Chapple is right to argue for more funding for the Department of Conservation, his comments about the relative roles in conservation of central government and the community (Forest & Bird, August 1999) may unintentionally devalue the conservation efforts of everyone else. DoC and government funding will help save our endangered species and ecosystems. DoC’s species recovery plans, pest control, and offshore and mainland island projects, are world-lead-ing conservation initiatives and deserve much more than their current funding. The conservation of biodiversity isn’t just about endangered species and ecosystems, however. It’s about managing and valuing the native diversity around us all. DoC manages 30 percent of New Zealand; the other 70 percent is in our hands. It contains the under-represent-ed lowland forests, the gardens in which our lizards dwell, and the flax that tui and bellbird feed on. More importantly it’s

where most of us meet the natural world. It’s the belief that we are just as important as DoC and Government in the conservation of biodiversity that drives the conservation efforts of the Wellington Branch of Forest and Bird. The Karori Sanctuary, our home-nursery programme, South Coast Marine Reserve, Mana Island restoration, the purchase of Long Gully, the Kiwi Conservation Club, and the "Bring Back the Bird’s’ campaign are community initiatives. The future of New Zealand’s biodiversity is in all our hands. Government and citizen alike have an equally important role to play.