The Conservation Act 1987 and the Conservation Law Reform Act 1990 are principally focused on land management. The provision relating to Conservation Management Strategies (for marine mammals and wildlife) and Conservation Management Plans and General Policy (for marine mammals) can extend to throughout the EEZ (sections 17B, 17C, 17D and 17E).

Purpose of the legislation

There is no purpose statement. The long title of the Conservation Act states it is:

An Act to promote the conservation of New Zealand's natural and historic resources, and for that purpose to establish a Department of Conservation

Key Principles

The legislation has no explicit principles. Section 6 sets out the functions of the Department of Conservation.

There is no explicit reference to “precautionary management” or to ecosystem based management.

Treaty of Waitangi References

Section 4 of the Act states:

This Act shall so be interpreted and administered as to give effect to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi

Decision maker

The decision makers in the Acts are:

• Minister of Conservation - who establishes conservation areas, grants concessions;
• Director-General of Conservation – who is the administrative head of the Department of Conservation, and a wider range of powers under section 53 of the Conservation Act.
• NZ Conservation Authority – who advises the Minister on statements of general policy, approves conservation management plans and strategies, review and report on the effectiveness of the Department, consider and make proposals to change land classification in areas of national or international importance, advise on priorities, etc (section 6B);
• Conservation Boards – who recommend the approval by the Conservation Authority of conservation management strategies, approve conservation management plans (section 6M).

Binds Crown?

Section 3 set out the Act binds the Crown. There are no exceptions.

Public Participation The Act includes public participation in three key elements:

• Development of the general policy, conservation management strategy and conservation management plans;
• Application for concessions;
• Involvement in NZ Conservation Authority and Conservation Boards.

1. Two persons appointed after consultation with the Minister of Maori Affairs:
2. Two persons appointed after consultation with the Minister of Tourism:
3. One person appointed after consultation with the Minister of Local Government: (ca) One person nominated by Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu (as established by section 6 of Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu Act 1996):
4. One person appointed on the recommendation of the Royal Society of New Zealand:
5. One person appointed on the recommendation of the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand Incorporated:
6. One person appointed on the recommendation of the Federated Mountain Clubs of New Zealand Incorporated:
7. Four persons appointed following public notice given in accordance with subsection (2) of this section. (section 6D)

• The Board whose area of jurisdiction includes the Tongariro National Park shall consist of—
  1. Not more than eleven persons appointed under subsection (2) of this section; and
  2. The paramount chief for the time being of the Ngati Tuwharetoa Tribe of the Maori race, if that chief is a lineal descendant of Te Heuheu Tukino, the donor on behalf of his associated Chiefs of the Tribe of certain Maori land included in the area of the park, or, if the paramount chief for the time being of that tribe is not a lineal descendant of Te Heuheu Tukino, a lineal descendant of Te Heuheu Tukino appointed by the Minister.
• The Board whose area of jurisdiction includes the Egmont National Park shall consist of—
  1. Not more than eleven persons appointed under subsection (2) of this section; and
  2. One person to be appointed by the Minister on the recommendation of the Taranaki Maori Trust Board.
• The Board whose area of jurisdiction includes the Whanganui National Park shall consist of—
  1. Not more than eleven persons appointed under subsection (2) of this section; and
  2. One person appointed by the Minister on the recommendation of the Whanganui River Maori Trust Board.
• The Board whose area of jurisdiction includes most of the Waikato claim area within the meaning of section 7 of the Waikato Raupatu Claims Settlement Act 1995 shall consist of not more than 12 persons, being—
  1. Not more than 11 persons appointed under subsection (2) of this section; and
  2. The person who for the time being is recognised as the Head of Kahui Ariki, or a person appointed by the Minister on the nomination of the person so recognised.
• A Board whose area of jurisdiction is wholly within the Ngai Tahu claim area, as defined in section 8 of the Ngai Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998, must consist of not more than 12 persons, being—
  1. At least 2 persons appointed on the nomination of Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu (as established by section 6 of Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu Act 1996); and
  2. The remaining persons appointed under subsection (2).
• A Board whose area of jurisdiction is partly within the Ngai Tahu claim area, as defined in section 8 of the Ngai Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998, must consist of not more than 12 persons, being—
  1. At least 1 person appointed on the nomination of Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu (as established by section 6 of Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu Act 1996); and
  2. The remaining persons appointed under subsection (2).

There is no explicit provisions for involvement of ?wi or h?pu or M?ori generally but some iwi are able to directly nominate representatives on specific conservation boards (see above) and Ngai Tahu has a representative on the New Zealand Conservation Authority.

Appeal body

There is no appeal body in the legislation. Any review of a decision by the Minister or other decision makers would be subject to judicial review by the High Court.

Environmental Assessment Provisions

Part IIIB (Concessions) includes the requirement of an applicant for a permit, lease, licence or easement to include an assessment of the potential effects of the proposed activity.

Under section 17U the Minister must have regard to:

1. The nature of the activity and the type of structure or facility (if any) proposed to be constructed:
2. The effects of the activity, structure, or facility:
3. Any measures that can reasonably and practicably be undertaken to avoid, remedy, or mitigate any adverse effects of the activity:
4. Any information received by the Minister under section 17S or section 17T of this Act:
5. Any relevant environmental impact assessment, including any audit or review:

The main management planning instruments under the Act are set out in Part IIIA. They include:

• General Policy – statements of general policy to implement the Act
• Conservation Management Strategies – these are established for each DoC conservancy or sub-Area and have the purpose of implementing general policy and establishing objectives for the integrated management of natural and historic resources including any species managed by the Department.
• Conservation Management Plans – these are established for any area or areas and have the purpose of implementing any conservation management strategy and establishing detailed objectives for the integrated management of natural and historic resources in that area. This includes marine reserves or marine mammal sanctuaries.

• Wildlife Act 1953
• Marine Reserves Act 1971
• Reserves Act 1977
• Wild Animal Control Act 1977
• Marine Mammals Protection Act 1978.

Area of operation

The Act includes all land and the coastal marine area out to 12 nautical miles offshore (the extent of the territorial sea) and conservation management strategies and marine mammal strategies can be made for the EEZ.

Penalties and Enforcement

The enforcement and penalties provision of the Act are in Part VI.

The maximum penalties are for:

• People up to 5 years in jail and fines not exceeding $100,000;
• Corporations can be fined up to $200,000.

Infringement offences under s159 to 160 of the Act. These are applied by inspectors. The penalties range from $100 to $200 for offences.

Principles are liable for actions of agents (s156) and most offences involve strict liability with some defences.

International Obligations

This Act is used to implicitly implement a number of international agreements including:
Convention on the Wetlands of International Importance as Waterfowl Habitat, 1971;
Convention on Conservation of Nature in the South Pacific Region, 1976;
Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

Regulations

The regulations only relate to bringing the legislation into force. Particular regulations exist under the related statutes – eg Marine Reserves Act, Marine Mammals Protection Act, etc.

Some cases

The conservation cases involve review of decisions. For example:
Ngai Tahu Maori Trust Board & Others v D-G of Conservation & Others (Court of Appeal CA 18/95, 22 September 1995.) Cooke P, Richardson, Casey, Hardie Boys, Gault JJ.

Ngai Tahu Maori Trust Board v. Director General of Conservation. [1995] 3 NZLR 553, 561

Further information

Statement of Conservation General Policy
Conservation Management Strategies

Websites

Department of Conservation