Northland conservation spokesperson calls for Treaty-centric Wildlife Act replacement

Taonga species are the target as updated legislation will aim to offer more protection. Photo / Les Feasey

The Government is planning to scrap the 70-year-old Wildlife Act of 1953 in favour of one that better protects native species. The announcement last week came after a review which found the current Act is outdated and no longer fit for purpose.

The hope is that regardless of which party makes it to government, the policy will continue through Cabinet next year and go into the hands of the public for consultation.

Te Rūnanga Papa Atawhai O Te Tai Tokerau (Northland Conservation Board) chairwoman Nyze Manuel, of Whangaroa in the Far North, wants to see a new version that is Te Tiriti-centric and takes into account current and future changes to the environment.

“We need to re-align and review it and replace it with something [that reflects] where we’re at today, rather than 70 years ago,” she said.

Manuel said here in Northland, there are “a lot” of endemic species that require more protection.

She said 4,000 species are currently threatened or looking at extinction on an annual basis in New Zealand, and changing the Act is vital to their protection.

We need to “think quick”, she said, to ensure species are protected as climate change occurs - with rising sea levels and coastal erosion already taking hold.

She is calling for a community-driven change and consultation process, with hapū, iwi and whānau involved in an “open platform” where the Department of Conservation (DoC) can “directly talk” about what the changes look like for Northlanders.

“It’s getting our communities involved as to what this review may look like,” she said.

“At the end of the day, it’s our people that apply it. It’s our people that apply conservation to conservation. It has to be community-driven.”

“Hopefully, our taonga species get the much-needed protection they deserve,” she said.

Deputy director-general of strategy and policy for the Department of Conservation, Ruth Isaac, said the DoC held a hui [meeting] with tangata whenua, key stakeholders and statutory bodies to seek their views on problems with the current species management system.

Isaac said there was a “general agreement” that the Act is no longer fit for purpose, due to it not being fit for modern conservation management, lacking the tools needed to protect threatened species and preventing the fulfilment of Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations.

An independent Strategic Oversight Group made up of members with diverse skills in te ao Māori, conservation, tourism, science, game animal management, law and environmental policy and governance provided expertise in the review.

The group strongly support a new species management legislation.

“DoC is currently undertaking policy work on what new legislation could look like, and this will be subject to public consultation and further Cabinet decisions. We know what the issues are with the current Act from the work on the review so far, and the next steps will be looking at how legislation can address these issues,” Isaac said.

She said the Government is working to ensure new legislation provides better protection for indigenous species, better complies with Treaty obligations, ensures cohesion with other natural resource legislation, creates a clear and understandable system, and ensures that DoC has the right tools to protect species.

DoC is expected to carry out public consultation on the proposed approach and framework for the new Act in mid to late 2024, pending Cabinet decisions.

Brodie Stone is the education and general news reporter at the Advocate. Brodie recently graduated from Massey University and has a special interest in the environment and investigative reporting.