Briefing to the Incoming Minister of Conservation

To: Hon Tama Potaka, Minister of Conservation
Date: 18 December 2023

Congratulations on your appointment and welcome to the Conservation portfolio; the New
Zealand Conservation Authority / Te Pou Atawhai Taiao O Aotearoa (Authority) looks forward
to working closely with you. I am writing to you, on behalf of the full Authority, to provide an
introduction and overview of our role, and to highlight the areas and issues that are of particular
focus for us.
In its nature, conservation is focused on intergenerational progress; this is a pivotal time for this
progress, with several high profile and high value workstreams that hold potential for
considerable positive change. I hope to work closely with both you and Penny Nelson, Director-General of Conservation, to ensure the Department of Conservation / Te Papa Atawhai
(Department) is strategic and purposeful in its management of public conservation land and
waters for the enduring benefit of our future generations.

An introduction to the Authority

The Authority is an independent statutory body, established by section 6A of the Conservation
Act 1987 (Act). Its primary purposes are to act as an independent advisor to you and the Director-General on conservation matters of national importance; to monitor the effectiveness of the
Department’s administration of general policies; and, to approve statutory management plans
and strategies.
Its membership is appointed by the Minister of Conservation in consultation with various
Ministers, on recommendation from key stakeholders, and from public nominations (see
Attachment 1 for a list of current members). The Authority is committed to collaborative models
in the management of public conservation lands and waters, and advocates for the public interest
in the Department’s management of these areas.
The Authority meets six times a year, and you are invited to all of these meetings (see Attachment
2 for details). The Authority undertakes a significant portion of its work outside of formal meetings,
by way of standing committees. This enables us to form working relationships with Department
staff and ensure we are well informed to provide you and the Director-General with high quality
and timely advice.
In addition to its functions in the Act, the Authority has functions in the National Parks Act 1980,
the Wildlife Act 1953, the Marine Reserves Act 1971, the Reserves Act 1977, the Wild Animal
Control Act 1977, and the Marine Mammals Protection Act 1978.

Our role as independent advisors to you and the Director-General

The Authority investigates issues it considers of national importance, to effectively provide
high-quality advice to you and the Director-General, in accordance with its functions
undersection 6B(d) of the Act. Throughout the past year, in addition to discussions within
its meetings, the Authority has advised the Minister on the following matters:

• NZCA advice on the Department’s expenditure of money 2023-24, January 2023
• Recommendations for conservation board appointments, March 2023
• Recommendation on the release of biocontrol agents in the Kaniwhaniwha Stream
  Recreation Reserve, Waikato, April 2023
• Overview report on the conservation board annual reports for 2012-22, July 2023

The Authority would value a regular exchange of views on issues of significance to
conservation. I have, in the past, found routine meetings with the Minister to be mutually
beneficial and suggest that we continue this tradition to keep abreast of the matters each of
us may be considering in between meetings. In addition, I would like to take this opportunity
to offer my personal number as a means of contact for discussion of issues as and when
required.
Similarly, I maintain regular monthly meetings with the Director-General, whose attendance,
alongside that of her Senior Leadership Team, at the Authority’s meetings enables an
exchange of strategic advice and guidance on issues important to the Department’s future
success.

Our role as advisors and approvers of general policy and statutory plans

The Authority has functions to advise on statements of general policy, and to approve
conservation management strategies and plans under section 6B of the Act. The Authority has
functions to advise on, prepare, and approve statements of general policy for national parks,
and to approve management plans for national parks under section 18 of the National Parks
Act 1980.
These statutory documents ensure the most robust protection for Aotearoa New Zealand, by
providing documents, developed in a democratic process with New Zealanders and more
recently in partnership with whānau, hapū, and iwi that guide the Department’s management
of our public conservation lands, as well as the public’s use of, and access to, those lands.

The current focus areas of the Authority

The Authority is progressing through its workplan for the current reporting year, which I look
forward to sharing with you in the near future. Alongside its strategic priorities, that provide
long term goals and direction (included in Attachment 3), the Authority has identified the
following areas that are crucial to deliver on in the upcoming year:

1. Partial reviews of the general policies: In 2019, in response to the Supreme Court
   decision in the Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki matter, the Minister and the Authority initiated reviews
   of the two general policies to ensure they gave better recognition to the role of tangata
   whenua in conservation management, and to help the Department meets its Tiriti
   obligations. The Options Development Group (ODG) was established to provide advice
   to the Minister and the Authority on how best to give effect to the Court’s decision. The
   Authority received the ODG’s report in April 2022 and is dedicated to ensuring the partial
   reviews of the General Policy for National Parks and the Conservation General Policy
   are completed to accurately give effect to the Treaty of Waitangi / Tiriti o Waitangi. The
   Authority expects that enhanced conservation outcomes should flow from strong Māori-Crown partnerships.
   It is important that the review of the Conservation General Policy is progressed in order
   to free up the current logjam with the management planning systems.
2. Conservation Management Strategies (CMSs) and National Park Management
   Plans (NPMPs): The Authority has long been concerned with the statutory management
   planning system, and the Department’s processes to better give effect to this system.
   Although we were able to approve the Otago CMS partial review at our June 2022
   meeting, this is the first statutory strategy or plan to come before the Authority for
   consideration and approval since the Wellington CMS in 2018.
   The increasing delays in reviewing statutory plans has been a considerable focus for
   Authority work over the past three years. Following a report and subsequent addendum
   to the Minister and Director-General on the matter in December 2020 and March 2021
   (respectively), the Department actioned the Authority’s second recommendation, for an
   external review of the management planning system to be undertaken. The Department
   engaged the Environmental Defence Society (EDS) for this review, and the report was
   received by the Department and the Authority in December 2022.
   The Department has now launched a project labelled Re-Imagining Management
   Planning, which is designing a new system for how CMSs and NPMPs will be written in
   the future. The Authority has been working with the Department on this project, primarily
   through its Management Planning Committee, and will continue to do so through the
   coming year.
3. Stewardship Land Reclassification: The Authority has long advocated for
   reclassification of stewardship land, and the implementation of the Government’s
   commitment to end mining on public conservation land. We are supportive of the work
   of the National and Manawhenua Panels in progressing this work in the Western South
   Island and are currently investigating the Authority’s procedure and involvement in
   resulting recommendations relating to additions to national parks, in accordance with our
   statutory functions under the National Parks Act 1980 and the General Policy for
   National Parks. This will include investigation into issues that Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu
   have expressed regarding National Park access.
4. Climate and biodiversity crises: The Authority was engaged in the development of Te
   Mana o te Taiao / Aotearoa New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy (TMoTT) and were
   pleased to see the Implementation Plan launched in early 2022; and the Authority has
   regularly advised Directors-General and Ministers on its importance. To be achieved,
   however, there will need to be a range of implementation measures across Government,
   across land tenures, and across domains (marine, land, and freshwater). We will
   continue to advocate for the Department to champion the changes required for TMoTT
   to succeed.
   To ensure true measurement and success of initiatives to adapt to the looming climate
   and biodiversity crises (such as TMoTT, Predator Free 2050, and the Department’s
   Climate Change Adaption Action Plan), the Authority stresses the necessity for further
   commitment to scientific environmental research and ongoing socialisation of these
   significant issues. It is also important that the growing issues around the spread of
   ungulates and weeds are urgently addressed.
5. Conservation Law Reform: The Authority has been engaging with the Department on
   the programme of conservation law reform. We have established a committee that will
   be working closely with yourself and Department staff, initially on the Wildlife Act Review.
   I believe we are strategically placed to provide input into critical junctures in this
   workstream. At this early stage, the Authority supports the ambition of this work to create
   a fit for purpose ecosystem-based approach to species protection and management that
   reflects the full relationship that whānau, hapū and iwi have with taonga species and te
   taiao. We have so far held a number of workshops on the fundamental questions posed
   in fuller scale law reform whilst also taking a deep dive in modernising the Wildlife Act
   1953.
   We are also engaging on the Conservation Management and Processes issues, that will
   endeavour to deliver more immediate improvements to the conservation system.
6. Marine conservation: The Authority continues to advocate for legislative reform for
   marine protection and the development of a range of tools to enable protection of marine
   ecosystems, habitats ,and species, in ways in which uphold the rights of tangata whenua
   and recognise indigenous approaches to ocean conservation.
   Aotearoa New Zealand’s ocean territory is 15 times larger than our land mass, and our
   economy relies on the ocean, with $7.4 billion directly related to sectors active in our
   marine environment. It also sustains some of our most threatened native species. An
   integrated mountain-to-sea approach is essential for marine conservation given the
   impacts of the land-based impacts threatening our coastal and marine ecosystems,
   including sedimentation, forestry slash, plastic pollution, and nutrient runoff.
   The Authority advocates for restoration of our declining marine biodiversity by
   implementing an effective ecosystem-based management system and ensuring
   protection of ecologically significant or particularly vulnerable marine habitats.
   Fish stocks need to be managed for resilience and abundance in order to safeguard
   these resources for future generations, and this requires fisheries management regimes
   that are agile and able to respond in appropriate time frames to the challenges of climate
   change, phasing out technologies that damage benthic habitats, and adopting best
   practice mitigation technology to reduce fisheries bycatch.

Our role as advocates

The Authority, in accordance with section 6B(g) of the Act, has a function to encourage and
participate in educational and publicity activities for the purposes of bringing about a better
understanding of nature conservation. In the past year, members have attended various
events including meetings of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), JD
Stout Trust, and the Tahr Plan Implementation Liaison Group. Members are based across the
country and will continue to be available to attend and provide support to you in events such
as these, as and when opportunities arise.
In addition, the Authority advocates for conservation by periodically making submissions on a
range of issues. In the past year, this has been on items such as:

• Long Term Insights Briefing – January 23
• Feedback on the Environmental Defence Society Report on the Conservation
  Management Planning System – January 23
• NBA and SPA Bills – February 23
• Enabling Investment in Offshore Renewable Energy – April 23
• NPS for Renewable Electricity Generation – May 23
• MBIE Draft Tourism Environment Action Plan – July 23
• Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill – November 23
• Offshore Renewable Energy – November 2023
• Exploring a Biodiversity Credit System for Aotearoa New Zealand – November 23

The Authority’s relationship with the conservation boards

Another of the Authority’s roles is to act as a conduit for the fifteen Conservation Boards (see
Attachment 4) to report on the implementation of conservation management strategies and
conservation management plans, and to raise conservation issues relating to any area within
their rohe.
Conservation Boards have a regulatory function in monitoring the use of and access to the
public conservation land that covers one-third of Aotearoa New Zealand. The relationship
between Conservation Boards and the Authority is enabled through liaison roles, an annual
conference, and regular reporting. The Conservation Board Chairs’ Conference offers an
excellent opportunity for Board Chairpersons to meet one another and engage on common
issues; to receive direction on your expectations as Minister; and meet with the DirectorGeneral. Dates are still to be confirmed for this year’s conference.
The Authority would like to meet with you as soon as is convenient, to introduce ourselves and
to learn about your priorities; to this end, I would like to invite you to attend our next meeting
in Wellington on 22 and 23 February, in person or via Microsoft Teams. I would also welcome
the opportunity to meet with you and discuss the issues raised in this Briefing.