Governance of national parks at the crossroads: New Zealand's silent reform

Abstract

New Zealand’s national parks are major attractions for tourism and recreation, while hosting other commercial activities considered compatible with that primary role, like grazing, commercial filming and renewable electricity production. Commercial activities can only be carried out according to the terms of legal documents referred to as ‘concessions’ (typically, permits, licences and leases). There are currently 14 national parks, all managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC). Most of the country’s native birds, reptiles, frogs, bats and plants are unique in the world, but highly vulnerable to introduced predators and human activities. DOC has argued frequently that its conservation activities are ‘heavily weighted towards the trapping and poisoning of … introduced animals’. However, ‘less than 25% of conservation land receives interventions on key threats, with around 8% receiving possum, rat and stoat control’.