Banks Peninsula Leads Way In Environmental Conservation

A unique approach to environmental protection gets underway today with the launch of the Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust.

The concept of setting up a group of independent trustees to promote sustained management and conservation on private land that falls outside areas managed by the District Plan was one of several recommendations made by the Banks Peninsula Rural Task Force.

Mayor Noeline Allan says the major thrust of the Task Force recommendations to the Banks Peninsula District Council were to move to more voluntary methods of environmental protection.

“The Task Force also suggested establishing an independent trust that would be responsible for recognising, recording and encouraging the protection of special natural areas on Banks Peninsula,” she says.

The Council provided funds to help establish the group. Once it is up and running, the conservation trust will work alongside organisations such as the Landcare Trust, Queen Elizabeth II Trust, Forest and Bird and the Department of Conservation.

“We believe the establishment of a conservation trust is a positive initiative and are proud that Banks Peninsula is leading the way in environmental protection,” Mayor Allan says.

“Protecting the Peninsula’s unique environment for current and future generations is an issue the Council takes seriously and we fully support this community approach to managing significant natural sites.”

Consultation with landowners and interest groups affected by the Task Force’s recommendations to reduce coastal and landscape protection areas is continuing.

At the same time, the Council is currently reviewing building controls in rural areas to make sure any necessary controls are in place to protect the Peninsula against inappropriate development.

The following people were named as trustees for the new conservation trust:

- John Christensen (former Banks Peninsula District Council Environmental Services Manager)

- Mark Christensen (a lawyer and member of the ministerial advisory committee on biodiversity)

- Frank Dickson (retired managing director of Trust Bank Canterbury and Trust Bank New Zealand)

- David Norton, (an ecologist at the University of Canterbury’s School of Forestry).

Ends

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