New Zealand Urged to Keep Rare Native Species
11/19/99
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Title: NEW ZEALAND Urged to Keep Rare Native Species
Source: Environment News Service, http://www.ens.lycos.com/
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: November 19, 1999
AUCKLAND, New Zealand, November 19, 1999 (ENS) - The Royal Forest and
Bird Protection Society is calling on the government to keep in
public ownership three native forest areas on the Mamaku plateau,
near Rotorua. The forests belong to the Crown-owned Forest Research
Institute which is abandoning research into native forest species and
wants to sell the forests for cash to balance its budget.
Forest and Bird spokesperson Linda Conning said that the government
should show its commitment to native forests and indigenous
biodiversity and transfer the land to he Department of Conservation
(DOC).
The demand comes in the midst of a national election campaign in
which forest management is an important issue. New Zealand voters go
to the polls November 27.
"For the government to sell Crown-owned native forest, declared by
its own Department to be important for flora and fauna, is
hypocritical when they say they want to protect our dwindling
biodiversity. It sets a bad precedent -- will it next be DOC having
to sell off conservation land to balance its budget?"
One forest has the most dense stands of rimu and totara regeneration
ever studied, a research opportunity that should not be lost, Conning
says.
Forest and Bird claims that the community will lose an important
slice of scientific history and a valuable area of natural heritage
if it sells these forests. The land is close to Rotorua and on the
main road to Hamilton, making it easy to get to and ideal for
education.
When Crown estates were allocated in 1987 the forests would have gone
to DOC had not Forest Research wanted them for research. Now the
research and trials have stopped, the forests should remain in public
ownership under the management of the Department of Conservation, the
group says.
All the blocks are important to conservation and valuable as wildlife
habitats. One has a 25 hectare wetland, regionally rare plant species
and some unusual vegetation.
"The Government is using the flimsy excuse of inter-department book
balancing to sell these forests," says Conning. "It should show real
commitment to its own Biodiversity Strategy by keeping these forests
and protecting the wildlife they support."