Conservation Minister Meets With Society’s Council in Marlborough

Forest and Bird, Issue 299, 1 February 2001, Page 6

Conservation Minister Meets With Society’s Council in Marlborough

ney from being an ordinary Forest and Bird member, and later an executive member, to becoming Minister of Conservation, the Hon. Sandra Lee told the November council meeting of the Society in Blenheim. ‘I am as proud of my conservation roots as I am proud of my tangata whenua roots. The interweaving and overlapping of these two components of my life now assists me in my roles as both Minister of Conservation and Associate Minister of Maori Affairs. "Tremendous opportunities exist in treaty settlements to advance conservation and for weaving the role of Maori as kaitiaki (guardians) into conservation, working together with the Department of Conservation, Forest and Bird and others, Sandra Lee said. | or me it has been a unique jour-

In a speech which paid tribute to Forest and Bird’s activists, and surveyed the conservation advances of the Government, the Minister challenged the view ‘in some quarters of the conservation movement’ that there is a political consensus in support of most of the Government’s conservation policies. ‘Most of the Opposition parties sent clear messages that this is not so, though I have found the Greens to be very helpful. ‘T am aware there is also a perception that under the previous administration DoC was forced into the role of an apologist for conservation, Sandra Lee said. ‘I intend to be a totally different Minister of Conservation. ‘DoC’s biggest task will be the implementation of the New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy over the initial fiveyear period, she said. ‘It will be required to build good working partnerships with local authorities, and with a range of nonGovernment organisations from Forest and Bird to Federated Farmers, and of course, most importantly, iwi. ‘One of the challenges arising from that basic commitment is to address how best to safeguard our endangered biodiversity on private land. DoC must play a critical role in encouraging private landowners to the point where they become enthusiastic advocates of nature on their land, and want to look after it. ‘New Zealanders have a general commitment to conservation but DoC must make this a more informed commitment. The Minister gave as an example the recent funding of conservation awareness programmes to effect this, including making technical help available both by way of the internet and through advice from ‘real people on the ground’. ‘DoC will also continue to play an important role in the processes of the Resource Management Act, helping to ensure the best ecological information is available to support local authorities in making decisions. ‘New Zealand’s rural and urban economies can develop to meet our needs without imperilling our natural heritage; the Minister said. ‘I look forward to furthering cooperative relationships which DoC has already forged with many landowners, iwi, community groups and local authorities, to ensure nature flourishes in the countryside, and in our towns and cities"