A Helping Hand For Nature

Forest and Bird, Issue 308, 1 May 2003, Page 24

A Helping Hand For Nature

KEITH LYONS

looks at the work of the

Nature Heritage Fund

hen it comes to preserving W Zealand’s wild places, the Nature Heritage Fund is part Superman, part Robin Hood and part David Bellamy. Over the last 13 years the fund has provided various incentives for conservation. These include meeting the costs of protecting areas of high conservation value, mainly through their purchase, sometimes in association with local authorities and other agencies. The fund also assists in covenanting natural areas (meeting fencing, survey and legal costs) where landowners prefer to hold onto the title. It is also helping with management costs on land that is already protected. The fund is administered by the Minister of Conservation, on a discretionary basis. It began as the Forest Heritage Fund under the Hon. Philip Woollaston in 1990 to assist the goals of Labour’s Indigenous Forest Policy. In 1998 the contestable fund widened its scope to include ecosystems other than forests and changed its name to the Nature Heritage Fund. The Ministerial fund’s purpose is now to

‘protect indigenous ecosystems that represent the full range of natural diversity originally present in the landscape’. A recent example is the purchase of the white, sandy beach and headlands of Waikawau Bay on the Coromandel Peninsula, helped by a contribution by the fund and the Department of Conservation of $2 million. The Nature Heritage Fund is managed by the Department of Conservation, where DoC’s manager of landowner relations, Allan McKenzie, has toiled to provide an option for landowners not wishing to log their forests. He admits the fund has been a ‘quiet achiever’, but it has been pro-active in securing protection for threatened ecosystems. "We've protected over 180,000 hectares — that’s the equivalent of three small national parks, he says. The annual allocation of funds is also increasing under a package supporting the 2000-2005 biodiversity strategy. An extra $30 million is being shared by the Nature Heritage Fund, with its parallel Maori organisation Nga Whenua Rahui, and the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust. The national president of Forest and Bird, Dr Gerry McSweeney, has been with the fund since its inception, as a member of the independent committee which reviews proposals four times a year. He believes the contestable fund has played a key role

beyond the forests in protecting the most threatened tussocklands, shrublands, wetlands and estuarine environments. ‘The increase in funding will give the fund opportunity to protect more regional priority areas, establish clusters of biodiversity and preserve unique ecosystems, from the mountains to the sea. Gerry McSweeney says the fund has also been able to sort out historical problems on land of national importance, such as enclaves of private land in and around national parks, and grazing rights on public land. He’s concerned about rising land prices, fuelled by foreign investment and ownership. ‘We need to protect lands that are nationally important from being subdivided and developed in the current orgy of development that is happening in the high country and around the coastline of New Zealand. However, the fund isn’t going to be held to ransom by developers. The fund is there for those who want to work in partnership to protect our treasured heritage.’ He says Forest and Bird members have been instrumental in getting landowners to apply for funding from the Nature Heritage Fund as an alternative to logging, burning or draining. On the next pages are some recent examples of the fund’s achievements.

Membership

The Nature Heritage Fund has a committee of advisers: Diane Lucas, a landscape architect from Christchurch; Dr Gerry McSweeney, tourist operator and farmer, and national president of Forest and Bird; Mike Lee, an Auckland regional councillor; and Jan Riddell, a farmer from Southland. The members of the Maori fund, Nga Whenua Rahui, are Tumu Te Heuheu, Kevin Prime, Tania Nikora, Rangi Te Maiharoa and Te Aue Davis.

Nga Whenua Rahui

A parallel Ministerial fund, Nga Whenua Rahui, was established in 1991 to protect ecosystems on Maori land. It does this through the covenanting, physical protection, registration and creation of Maori reservations, but maintains Maori ownership and control. Nearly 100 proposals have been approved, protecting over 110,000 hectares, including two substantial blocks in the eastern Bay of Plenty. These range from rare coastal forest rising to inland steep beech forest, and some 45,000 hectares adjoining Raukumara Forest Park.

Mangarakau, northwest Nelson

Mangarakau is the largest remaining wetland in the Nelson/Marlborough region. Adjoining the Kahurangi National Park and Westhaven Marine Reserve, the wetland supports a diverse range of species including flax and raupo, regenerating kahikatea-pukatea forest, the rare swamp orchid Spiranthes and the brown mudfish. More than 120 hectares of this wetland was substantially paid for by the Nature Heritage Fund to be managed by the NZ Native Forests Restoration Trust. In opening the new wetland reserve earlier this year the Minister of Conservation, Hon. Chris Carter, said Mangarakau was a pivotal ecological entity in a region noted for dramatic and pristine

landscapes. He praised the partnership to protect the freshwater wetland. ‘It is the Nature Heritage Fund’s policy to foster a partnership approach with local and regional councils, conservation organisations and community groups to achieve better conservation outcomes and more effective use of funding. This project is a good example of that process taking place.

Boundary Creek, Marlborough

One of the last remnants of indigenous forest in the Wairau Valley was protected for future generations with the purchase of 437 hectares earlier this year. The block is considered important because it contains the largest of three remaining stands of matai forest in the Wairau Valley, as well as original beech forest and Hall’s totara. The new reserve is the habitat for threatened plants and native birds like the native pigeon and falcon. The purchase borders on Boundary Creek, an important habitat for native fish. The steep, forest-blanketed reserve is considered to be representative of what the Wairau Valley would have looked like hundreds of years ago. Management of the reserve by the Department of Conservation will focus on protecting its ecological values.

Knuckle Point, Northland

An untouched slice of Northland’s coast was saved from developers and preserved as a new scenic reserve late last year, with the $2.7 million purchase of privately owned land known as Paeroa’s at Knuckle Point on the Karikari Peninsula. The unspoiled headland, which was a significant site for Ngati Kahu, features a steep, rocky coastline with kanuka, towai, kohekohe and pohutukawa forests, estuaries and a wetland. The North Island fernbird, skinks

and a snail species native to the peninsula are among the wildlife. The 378-hectare reserve is now managed by the Department of Conservation. A spokesperson for the Kauhoehoe Trust that owned the land, Pat Durham, said the trust was keen for the block of land to remain in New Zealand hands so future generations could continue to have access. ‘We had lots of inquiries from buyers all over the world, keen to snap up this piece of land, but we were very pleased to see it pass into the Department of Conservation’s hands, he says.

Waikawau Bay, Coromandel

A classic Coromandel bay fringed with 2.5 kilometres of white, sandy beach was purchased for $3.54 million in February this year. Funding included $2 million from the Nature Heritage Fund and the Department of Conservation. The high-profile land had been gifted to the University of Auckland in 2002 by an American millionaire, Paul Kelly, to help fund an expanded business school. The Department of Conservation won an open tender for the 150 hectares, adding it to the 1000-hectare Waikawau farm park already owned by the department. The land, on the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula, opposite Colville, includes a pohutukawa cliff forest, coastal broadleaf forest and kanuka forest, as well as a wetland area with adult cabbage trees. In announcing the purchase, the Minister of Conservation said the Government decided it was important the land remained in public ownership. ‘It offers fantastic recreational opportunities for the public, but perhaps more importantly, coastal forest and wetland areas on the Coromandel Peninsula are extremely rare, the Minister said.

More Cow, Maruia Valley

Land which is expected to be a candidate for addition to the Maruia/Waiau National Park was purchased in early 2003 by the Nature Heritage Fund. The 178-hectare forest is comprised of red and silver beech and will be added to the Lewis Pass National Reserve in the Upper Maruia Valley. Among the wildlife are the endangered long-tailed bat, as well as other threatened species such as yellow-crowned kakariki, kaka, kea, falcon and native pigeon.

Mt Hiwi Trust, Taranaki

The Nature Heritage Fund has helped to protect a unique area of forest and wetland around the Moumahaki chain of lakes in south Taranaki. The Mt Hiwi Trust, formed by former Taranaki residents now living mainly in Wellington, has been assisted through the Nature Heritage Fund to purchase land and undertake fencing to create a safer habitat for native plants and wildlife. The trust has an active pest control programme using toxic-free technologies to eradicate pests that threaten birds. These

birds include bellbird, tomtit, tui, fernbird, morepork, North Island robin, grey teal and brown kiwi which are found among the rimu, rata, tawa, beech, and wetland. The 411-hectare property will be legally protected by a covenant, and the Mt Hiwi Trust plans to develop an extensive sanctuary for research and education. The trust hopes to develop simple accommodation for more people to appreciate the indigenous virgin forests and ecosystems. — KEITH LYONS is a Wellington based journalist.