29 March 2000

Thank you Prime Minister.

This Strategy document launched today is the outcome of just over 7800 submissions that were made in response to a draft document.

We have broadened the overall draft goal of "halting the decline of indigenous ecosystems and species", beyond conserving a minimum set of representative populations of our indigenous species in selected habits, to restoring populations across their natural range.

The role of Maori in conservation as well as the Treaty of Waitangi have also been more explicitly recognised than they were in the draft, by adding a new goal to the Strategy.

Now, one of the four main goals is to actively protect iwi and hapu interests in indigenous biodiversity, and build and strengthen partnerships between government agencies, and iwi and hapu in conserving and sustainably using indigenous biodiversity.

The Prime Minister has just highlighted one further change from the draft: a new target has been set of phasing out the logging of indigenous forests on Crown-managed lands, as soon as possible.

And more emphasis has been given to conservation of marine biodiversity, including setting a target of protecting 10 percent of New Zealand's marine environment.

There is also a clearer recognition of the role of private landowners in biodiversity conservation, reflected in our release earlier this month of the Biowhat? discussion document by my Cabinet colleague Hon Marian Hobbs, who I'm pleased to introduce now.