New Zealand Department of Conservation
Encyclopedia
The Department of Conservation (In Māori
, Te Papa Atawhai), commonly known by its acronym, "DOC", is the state sector organisation
which deals with the conservation
of New Zealand
’s natural and historic heritage
. The current Minister of Conservation
in the Government
is the Hon, Kate Wilkinson
.
The New Zealand Conservation Authority
is an advisory body to the Department of Conservation and to the Minister of Conservation.
The department was formed in 1987, when the Conservation Act 1987
was passed to integrate part of the Department of Lands and Survey
, the Forest Service
and the Wildlife Service
. This Act also set out the majority of the Department's responsibilities and roles.
DOC administers most of the Crown land
in New Zealand. This is almost a third of New Zealand's land area, including national forests, maritime parks, marine reserves, nearly 4000 reserves, river margins, some coastline, several hundred wetlands, and many offshore islands. Most of the land under its control is protected for either scenic, scientific, historic or cultural reasons, or set aside for recreation.
Providing for recreation is a major part of its core work, and this covers the management of family picnic sites, as well as maintaining rugged backcountry tracks and over 1000 accompanying backcountry hut
s that are used by hunters and recreational trampers. DOC also administers the Nature Heritage Fund
, and is responsible for rural fire control
.
In addition to its work managing land and providing for recreation in New Zealand, DOC works to preserve its natural heritage
. This includes preservation of historic sites on public conservation land, saving native threatened species
, managing threats like pests
and weeds
, environmental restoration
, caring for marine
life, and assisting landowners to effectively preserve natural heritage.
The methods of achieving these goals have resulted in controversy, where some people claim that the Department of Conservation is overly biased towards environmentalists at the expense of New Zealand's economy. This is particularly a concern amongst some farmers and other industries that are major users of neighbouring land, many of whom have been affected by decisions of the department. However, these criticised DOC efforts have also been lauded for achieving some success, for both conservationists and farmers, having led to a significant drop in possum populations during the last decades.
The DOC was floated as the agency to supervise the construction of the proposed New Zealand Cycleway
, though this is now being managed primarily by the Ministry of Tourism, in coordination with the DOC where appropriate.
in 2006. It is the first green building
in New Zealand to be given a 5-star rating, having won numerous environmental awards, including a top 10 placing by Grist Magazine
. The site was originally a cinema complex operated by the Hoyts Group
from the mid 1980s until the early 2000s, when it closed down in the face of stiff competition.
, and a wide number of other conservation lands with varying levels of environmental protection, called the "conservation estate" in total. About one third of this estate, generally the land considered most valuable, has been protected from mining since 1997 via being listed in "Schedule 4" (though recent (2010) moves by the Fifth National Government have proposed exemption some areas from Schedule 4).
While much of the conservation land not protected as national parks or Schedule 4 land is much more damaged or human-modified than the core conservation areas, these areas serve as boundary and species buffer zones.
A Commission of Inquiry that followed the tragedy revealed that the department had acted illegally and negligently in constructing the viewing platform. The commission also stated that the department was seriously underfunded for the tasks with which it was delegated, resulting in a culture of sub-standard safety procedures having been used for the building and maintenance of some of its facilities.
Many people in New Zealand criticised the government for the department's situation, and Denis Marshall
, the presiding Minister of Conservation at the time, eventually resigned over the incident. Since the inquiry, radical changes have been made to the department's procedures to prioritise safety, including the implementation of a comprehensive asset management system to catalogue, track and trigger regular inspections of all significant structures and facilities managed by the department.
, administered by the Department of Conservation, was believed to have killed DOC worker Mark Kearney. At the exact time of the eruption, Mr Kearney is thought to have been taking temperature measurements of the lake as part of a programme for monitoring volcanic activity. Five other DOC workers, who were also living on the island, were forced to evacuate back to New Zealand shortly after the eruption. Searches for Mr Kearney, which have been inhibited by the island's remote location and the risks of further volcanic activity, have since failed to find any signs of him.
Maori language
Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
, Te Papa Atawhai), commonly known by its acronym, "DOC", is the state sector organisation
State sector organisations in New Zealand
Public sector organisations in New Zealand include the State sector plus the organisations of local government.Within the State sector lies the State services, and within this, lies the core Public service....
which deals with the conservation
Conservation ethic
Conservation is an ethic of resource use, allocation, and protection. Its primary focus is upon maintaining the health of the natural world: its, fisheries, habitats, and biological diversity. Secondary focus is on materials conservation and energy conservation, which are seen as important to...
of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
’s natural and historic heritage
Cultural heritage
Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations...
. The current Minister of Conservation
Minister of Conservation (New Zealand)
The Minister of Conservation is a minister in the government of New Zealand with responsibility for the Department of Conservation.The Loder Cup awarded for conservation is presented by the minister.-List of past ministers:-External links:...
in the Government
Fifth National Government of New Zealand
The Fifth National Government of New Zealand is the current government of New Zealand. It is led by Prime Minister John Key.After the 2008 general election the National Party and its allies were able to form a government, taking over from Helen Clark's Fifth Labour Government. The National party...
is the Hon, Kate Wilkinson
Kate Wilkinson (politician)
Catherine Joan "Kate" Wilkinson is a New Zealand politician, and currently serves as a member of Parliament.- Biography :...
.
The New Zealand Conservation Authority
New Zealand Conservation Authority
The New Zealand Conservation Authority is an advisory body to the New Zealand Department of Conservation and to the Minister of Conservation.Its stated mission is:-External links:* - New Zealand Conservation Authority information...
is an advisory body to the Department of Conservation and to the Minister of Conservation.
Overview
Conservation Act 1987
The Conservation Act 1987 is New Zealand's principal act concerning the conservation of indigenous biodiversity. The Act established the Department of Conservation and Fish and Game, and complements the National Parks Act 1980 and the Reserves Act 1997....
was passed to integrate part of the Department of Lands and Survey
Department of Survey and Land Information
The Department of Survey and Land Information is a former department of the New Zealand Government. It was formed in April 1987 as a restructuring of the Department of Lands and Survey....
, the Forest Service
New Zealand Forest Service
The New Zealand Forest Service was originally established in 1919 as the State Forest Service. The State Forest Service changed its name to the New Zealand Forest Service in 1949 at about the same time that the Forests Act of 1949 passed through Parliament....
and the Wildlife Service
New Zealand Wildlife Service
The New Zealand Wildlife Service is a defunct government department that was replaced by the Department of Conservation in 1987.-External links:* - New Zealand Wildlife Service collection...
. This Act also set out the majority of the Department's responsibilities and roles.
DOC administers most of the Crown land
Crown land
In Commonwealth realms, Crown land is an area belonging to the monarch , the equivalent of an entailed estate that passed with the monarchy and could not be alienated from it....
in New Zealand. This is almost a third of New Zealand's land area, including national forests, maritime parks, marine reserves, nearly 4000 reserves, river margins, some coastline, several hundred wetlands, and many offshore islands. Most of the land under its control is protected for either scenic, scientific, historic or cultural reasons, or set aside for recreation.
Providing for recreation is a major part of its core work, and this covers the management of family picnic sites, as well as maintaining rugged backcountry tracks and over 1000 accompanying backcountry hut
Backcountry hut
Backcountry huts are huts that serve overnight hiking and trekking needs and can be found in many places in the world.-New Zealand:New Zealand has a network of approximately 950 backcountry huts...
s that are used by hunters and recreational trampers. DOC also administers the Nature Heritage Fund
Nature Heritage Fund
The Nature Heritage Fund is a New Zealand Government funding body set up in 1990 for the purchase of land which has significant ecological or landscape features.It is administered by the Department of Conservation...
, and is responsible for rural fire control
Fire control
control of fire 'control of fire' is the practice of reducing the heat output of a fire, or reducing the area over which the fire exists, or suppressing or extinguishing the fire by depriving a fire of fuel, oxygen or heat ....
.
In addition to its work managing land and providing for recreation in New Zealand, DOC works to preserve its natural heritage
Natural heritage
Natural heritage is the legacy of natural objects and intangible attributes encompassing the countryside and natural environment, including flora and fauna, scientifically known as biodiversity, and geology and landforms ....
. This includes preservation of historic sites on public conservation land, saving native threatened species
Threatened species
Threatened species are any speciesg animals, plants, fungi, etc.) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future.The World Conservation Union is the foremost authority on threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories,...
, managing threats like pests
Pest control
Pest control refers to the regulation or management of a species defined as a pest, usually because it is perceived to be detrimental to a person's health, the ecology or the economy.-History:...
and weeds
Weed control
Weed control is the botanical component of pest control, using physical and chemical methods to stop weeds from reaching a mature stage of growth when they could be harmful to domesticated plants and livestock...
, environmental restoration
Environmental restoration
Environmental restoration is a term common in the citizens’ environmental movement. Environmental restoration is closely allied with ecological restoration or environmental remediation...
, caring for marine
Marine (ocean)
Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...
life, and assisting landowners to effectively preserve natural heritage.
The methods of achieving these goals have resulted in controversy, where some people claim that the Department of Conservation is overly biased towards environmentalists at the expense of New Zealand's economy. This is particularly a concern amongst some farmers and other industries that are major users of neighbouring land, many of whom have been affected by decisions of the department. However, these criticised DOC efforts have also been lauded for achieving some success, for both conservationists and farmers, having led to a significant drop in possum populations during the last decades.
The DOC was floated as the agency to supervise the construction of the proposed New Zealand Cycleway
National Cycleway Project
The New Zealand Cycle Trail project is a New Zealand government co-funded initiative to build and operate a network of cycle routes through the country...
, though this is now being managed primarily by the Ministry of Tourism, in coordination with the DOC where appropriate.
Headquarters
The Department of Conservation moved into a new headquarters, Conservation House, on Manners Street, WellingtonWellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
in 2006. It is the first green building
Green building
Green building refers to a structure and using process that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition...
in New Zealand to be given a 5-star rating, having won numerous environmental awards, including a top 10 placing by Grist Magazine
Grist Magazine
Grist is a free American liberal non-profit online magazine that has been publishing environmental news and commentary with a wry twist since 1999. Grists taglines are "Gloom and doom with a sense of humor" and "A beacon in the smog"...
. The site was originally a cinema complex operated by the Hoyts Group
Hoyts
The Hoyts Group is an Australian company consisting of Hoyts Exhibition, Hoyts Distribution and Val Morgan.Hoyts Exhibition manages 450 screens across 40 Australian and 10 New Zealand cinema complexes; making it Australia's second largest cinema chain. Val Morgan, the cinema advertising arm of the...
from the mid 1980s until the early 2000s, when it closed down in the face of stiff competition.
Conservation land
New Zealand has 14 national parksNational parks of New Zealand
The national parks of New Zealand are 14 protected areas administered by the Department of Conservation "for the benefit, use, and enjoyment of the public". These are popular tourist destinations, with three-tenths of tourists visiting at least one national park during their stay in New Zealand...
, and a wide number of other conservation lands with varying levels of environmental protection, called the "conservation estate" in total. About one third of this estate, generally the land considered most valuable, has been protected from mining since 1997 via being listed in "Schedule 4" (though recent (2010) moves by the Fifth National Government have proposed exemption some areas from Schedule 4).
While much of the conservation land not protected as national parks or Schedule 4 land is much more damaged or human-modified than the core conservation areas, these areas serve as boundary and species buffer zones.
Cave Creek disaster
In 1995, 14 people died when a viewing platform maintained by the Department of Conservation collapsed. Immediately following the tragedy, all of the department's 106 viewing platforms throughout New Zealand were checked. Fifteen platforms were closed for repairs.A Commission of Inquiry that followed the tragedy revealed that the department had acted illegally and negligently in constructing the viewing platform. The commission also stated that the department was seriously underfunded for the tasks with which it was delegated, resulting in a culture of sub-standard safety procedures having been used for the building and maintenance of some of its facilities.
Many people in New Zealand criticised the government for the department's situation, and Denis Marshall
Denis Marshall
Denis William Anson Marshall, QSO is a former New Zealand politician. He was an MP from 1984 to 1999, representing the National Party, and a Government Minister until 1996...
, the presiding Minister of Conservation at the time, eventually resigned over the incident. Since the inquiry, radical changes have been made to the department's procedures to prioritise safety, including the implementation of a comprehensive asset management system to catalogue, track and trigger regular inspections of all significant structures and facilities managed by the department.
Raoul Island eruption
In March 2006, a volcanic eruption at the Green Lake of Raoul IslandRaoul Island
Anvil-shaped Raoul Island , the largest and northernmost of the main Kermadec Islands, , has been the source of vigorous volcanic activity during the past several thousand years that was dominated by dacitic explosive eruptions.The area of the island, including fringing islets and rocks...
, administered by the Department of Conservation, was believed to have killed DOC worker Mark Kearney. At the exact time of the eruption, Mr Kearney is thought to have been taking temperature measurements of the lake as part of a programme for monitoring volcanic activity. Five other DOC workers, who were also living on the island, were forced to evacuate back to New Zealand shortly after the eruption. Searches for Mr Kearney, which have been inhibited by the island's remote location and the risks of further volcanic activity, have since failed to find any signs of him.
See also
- Biodiversity of New ZealandBiodiversity of New ZealandThe biodiversity of New Zealand, a large Pacific archipelago, is one of the most unusual on Earth, due to its long isolation from other continental landmasses. Its affinities are derived from Gondwana, from which it separated 82 million years ago, New Caledonia and Lord Howe Island, both of which...
- Conservation in New ZealandConservation in New ZealandConservation in New Zealand has a history associated with both Māori and Europeans. Both groups of people caused a loss of species and both amended their behaviour after realising their effect on indigenous flora and fauna.-Protected areas:...
- National parks of New ZealandNational parks of New ZealandThe national parks of New Zealand are 14 protected areas administered by the Department of Conservation "for the benefit, use, and enjoyment of the public". These are popular tourist destinations, with three-tenths of tourists visiting at least one national park during their stay in New Zealand...
- New Zealand Great WalksNew Zealand Great WalksThe New Zealand Great Walks are a set of popular tramping tracks. They are New Zealand's premier tracks, through areas of some of the best scenery in the country...
- Tramping in New ZealandTramping in New ZealandTramping, known elsewhere as hiking or bushwalking, is a popular activity in New Zealand.Tramping is defined as a recreational activity involving walking over rough country carrying all the required food and equipment...