Forest & Bird says today’s announcement on the future of West Coast stewardship land is a massive missed opportunity to protect some of New Zealand’s most precious ecosystems and wildlife. The decisions leave the door open for the destruction of public conservation land through activities like open-cast coal mining.

The decisions announced today include:

• That less than 1% will be given National Park protections. The decision rejects many proposals for National Park additions, reducing the area recommended by the National Panel from 77,440 ha to 4,298 ha.
• Keeping areas proposed for environmentally damaging fast-track projects as stewardship land, including the Denniston Plateau and the Waitaha River.
• Public conservation land at Te Kuha, a site proposed for an open-cast coal mine, has also been kept as stewardship land.
• An intention to sell off thousands of hectares of conservation land, including a large area which is part of the internationally recognised UNESCO Te Wahi Pounamu World Heritage Area, potentially without public consultation.

“Stewardship land is valuable public conservation land. A huge amount of work was done which found that many areas have ecological values equal to national parks and are home to threatened species such as kea, kiwi, mātātā fernbird, and whio blue duck,” says Forest & Bird's West Coast Regional Conservation Manager Nicky Snoyink.

“This review was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to permanently safeguard iconic mountain landscapes, ancient rainforests, wetlands, and wild rivers for future generations. Instead, it throws the door open for fast-track mining on public conservation land.”

Forest & Bird is concerned about the failure to protect the Denniston Plateau by not granting it scientific reserve status. The organisation has today released a report showing the Plateau meets every criterion for this classification.

“The Denniston Plateau is a treasure trove of ecological curiosities found nowhere else on Earth. Over 13,000 New Zealanders have signed our petition calling for scientific reserve status because they know this landscape is irreplaceable. You cannot offset it, and you cannot rehabilitate it once it is open-cast mined,” says Ms Snoyink.

“Today, we need our forests and wetlands more than ever. Healthy habitats found in these special places support biodiversity, carbon storage, and help protect communities from extreme weather events. These lands must remain intact and protected,” says Ms Snoyink.

Forest & Bird will be reviewing the proposals in order to consider its options to secure the right protections for this important public conservation land. It urges New Zealanders to sign the petition to make Denniston a scientific reserve.

© Scoop Media