Advice on the Functioning of Conservation Boards

To: Penny Nelson, Director-General of Conservation

Date: 9 October 2023 

Tēnā koe Penny, e rere ana ngā mihi o te rangi nei ki a koe e te Tumuaki o te tari ko Te
Papa Atawhai, I extend warm greetings to you and the office of Director General of Te Papa
Atawhai

‘Functioning of Conservation Boards’ Information Gathering Exercise – Summary and
Recommendations

Firstly, I would like to thank you for your attendance at the Conservation Boards Chairs’
Conference. The Chairs and I appreciated your attendance and willingness to have free and
frank discussions with attendees. Many attendees remarked on the positiveness and
productiveness of this conference in comparison to previous years and noted a feeling of
‘reinvigoration’.
This letter provides recommendations on progressing the ‘functioning of conservation
boards’ work that the Authority have undertaken in recent months.

Executive Summary

Through the Authority’s work with Conservation Boards Chairs, we have identified that there
is room for improvement on the current operating of Conservation Boards. In order to
support the identified improvements, I recommend a two-pronged approach, which consists
of:

1. Increased support from the Department: an increase in resourcing for conservation
   boards, as well as representation on the D-G working group.
2. Improvements made by conservation boards themselves, as identified by
   Conservation Boards Chairs.

Context and Background

During the June Authority meeting, the Authority engaged with you in a strategic discussion
around ‘what does good conservation look like?’. During this discussion, the role of
Conservation Boards was acknowledged as playing an important role in achieving ‘good
conservation’. You tasked the Authority to engage with conservation boards to understand
how the Department can support them in their efforts to contribute to good conservation, at a
time where their role and purpose may seem unclear due to the current out-of-date state of
many Conservation Management Strategies and Plans (CMSs and CMPs, respectively).
Since this conversation, the Authority have engaged with Conservation Boards Chairs to
better understand the current functioning of their board and discuss ideas on what the future
role and purpose of Conservation Boards looks like. This engagement took place in two
stages, as detailed below.

1. First stage: An initial round of information gathering took place via a phone call
   between Authority liaisons and Chairs, the purpose of which was to gain insight into
   how conservation boards are currently functioning. The feedback gathered during
   these phone calls is detailed in Attachment A, for your information.
2.  Second stage: An in-depth conversation at the Conservation Boards Chairs’
   Conference on 09 September 2023 at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds conducted in two
   sessions:
   a. The current functioning of conservation boards
   b. Moving forward with a clear purpose and role for conservation boards.

The feedback gathered from the conference can be found in Attachment B. You also
heard some of this feedback first hand during your time at the conference.

Recommendations for support to Conservation Boards from the Department

Conservation Management Strategies
During your session at the conference, you addressed the state of management planning,
and acknowledged the overdue status of most Conservation Management Strategies
(CMSs). You encouraged Chairs to acknowledge that the current situation with CMSs will
not be fixed in the foreseeable future, and therefore encouraged them to continue to make a
positive contribution to conservation in other ways during their term on the board(s).
The Chairs appreciated your free and frank discussion and acknowledge your advice to shift
away focus from CMS’. However, Chairs and the Authority also acknowledge the value of
CMS’s for engaging communities, achieving meaningful collaboration with mana whenua
and a legislative requirement.

Recommendation:

• It is recommended that DOC prioritises a work plan, including budgetary allocation,
  and timelines that allow both CB’s and the NZCA to manage their workflows and fulfil
  their statutory functions.

D-G Working Group
You advised that regional integrated strategies would be invigorated by the Department, and
you suggested establishing a working group which would look at the relationship between
boards and department personnel, and regional integrated strategies; the group would
comprise of select Chairs, SLT members, and Regional Operations Directors. The Chairs
seemed appreciative of this suggestion; I believe this group would contribute to Chairs
feeling valued by the Department and provide them with a tangible avenue to provide real
value and input into the implementation of regional integrated strategies.
The Chairs have selected representatives to be appointed to this group. If you are able to
provide further information on this group (i.e., terms of reference, first meeting date) that
would be appreciated.

Recommendation:

• It is recommended that Nyze Porter (Chair, Northland CB), Mike Legge (Chair,
  West Coast Tai Poutini CB), Honey Winter (Chair, Tongariro Taupō CB), and
  Shona Sangster (Chair, Southland CB) are appointed to your working group.

Budgets
During your session at the conference, you communicated to Chairs that an increase in
conservation board funding is unlikely given the Department’s current fiscal position.
However, Chairs felt that an increase in their budgets would allow them to better continue
their mahi with their local communities and iwi. In the absence of up-to-date CMSs, the
Chairs felt that a strong role and purpose for Conservation Boards moving forward is
continuing this work within their rohe. Therefore, if the Department is able to bolster them
financially to better continue their work, this would be an effective contribution to their role.
Chairs acknowledged the ongoing conflict with the Regional Operations Directors holding the
board’s budgets and suggested that budgets for conservation boards be held with the
respective Deputy Director-General or come assigned from the Minster directly.

Recommendation:

•  Conservation Board budgets are increased where possible, and their budgets are
  moved away from Regional Operations Directors.

Resourcing
A very strong theme in the feedback from Chairs was the inadequate resourcing dedicated
to Conservation Boards, mainly in the form of the Board Support Officer (BSO) position. This
is currently a 0.5FTE position. Chairs, and the BSO representatives present at the meeting,
noted the very high turnover in this role, as well as the inability to carry out the duties of the
role in a part-time capacity due to the high workload.
Further, the BSOs remarked on the competing priorities they face from the Department vs.
the Conservation Boards, their need to often service more than one board due to other BSO
vacancies, and that the work they carry out surpasses that of a secretariat or administrator
and includes engagement and relationship building with local communities and iwi.
There was widespread concern about this role from Chairs, BSOs, and Authority members
alike. Chairs were interested to hear if the department had analysed why the turnover of this
role was so high, and what action was being taken to address this.
Moving forward, Chairs felt strongly that having a full-time dedicated Board Support Officer
for each conservation board would be greatly beneficial to the functioning of their board and
would be an effective way to enable the boards to make a positive contribution to ‘good
conservation’. Further, servicing staff employment packages need to be reviewed to ensure
that those with skills and experience are remunerated fairly, and new appointments are
supported appropriately. This should help lead to higher retention rates, extended capability,
and better productivity.

Recommendation:

• It is recommended that each Conservation Board has a full-time Board Support
  Officer
• It is recommended all servicing staff remuneration packages, for Conservation
  Boards and the Authority, should be reviewed and aligned with other government
  departments; and remuneration packages appropriately reflect responsibilities
  and capabilities.

Potential improvements to be made by Conservation Boards

Further to the recommendations above, Chairs identified some potential improvements they
could proactively implement themselves within their Boards, without needing any input from
the Department. These included:

• Have in place board tikanga for operating, a set of values or principles, and
  regular check-ins based on manaakitanga and supportive board culture.
•  Regular off-site visits into the regions and engagement with local mana whenua.
• Establish and maintain meaningful relationships with other conservation boards,
  other conservation groups, councils, and other businesses – including with
  Statutory Managers and other Department staff.
• Have in place a good communications and engagement strategy.
• Sufficient and effective Te Tiriti training for all conservation board members –
  including facilitated development workshops.
• Create a strong understanding of ownership and responsibility on board work.
• Increase the public profile and community visibility of conservation boards.

I would be happy to discuss the contents of this report with you further, and would appreciate
your feedback on the proposed recommendations.