The Strategy only includes actions where there is a need for community or public agency involvement. This includes actions by individuals, for which at present there may be no economic incentive to undertake that action. Where existing initiatives and incentives are sufficient to address threats to biodiversity, they have not been included.

The Strategy is designed to assist government, local authorities, the private sector, community groups and individuals by providing a framework for determining the biodiversity outcomes that are sought and the optimal mechanisms to achieve those outcomes. The choice of the type of mechanism, and who undertakes the actions to achieve the outcome, will depend on the issues and particular situation. While the Government has overall responsibility for developing and implementing the Strategy, actions will be shared between government (at all levels), the community and the private sector.

The current position of the Government is that intervention¹ should only be used where there is a strong case for it and where net benefits² are likely to flow from it. Ideally, well functioning markets should be able to provide desirable outcomes; however market failure may prevent this.

Government interventions may not always deliver the outcome sought. Poorly designed regulations or mechanisms may also result in unforeseen costs due to the creation of perverse incentives (incentives that cause unintended or undesirable actions) or due to crowding out provision by the private sector. Regulation that is not well targeted may also result in high implementation costs or unintended outcomes. Voluntary and cooperative approaches may achieve better results in some circumstances because solutions can be better fitted to practical realities, and the speed of response and updating can be faster³.

A range of intervention mechanisms is included in the action plans in this Strategy (see box below). These were chosen on the basis that the intervention:

• is necessary to correct an identified market failure; or
• provides a positive net benefit, that is, the benefits exceed costs.

Interventions should also:

• be effective, including cost effective;
• be transparent and well targeted;
• not crowd out private provision;
• be acceptable to stakeholders;
• be undertaken by whoever is best placed to maximise the net benefit;
• have low risk to the Crown and to biodiversity;
• not be compromised by a lack of underlying information; and
• be compatible with the Treaty of Waitangi and the property rights system that may emerge from the Treaty claims settlement process.

The Strategy includes measures to encourage individuals to take actions that conserve and enhance biodiversity, either as a primary or secondary objective of management. Where the Government is providing resources in support of private initiatives, outcomes will need to be monitored and accountabilities established.

The performance of the Strategy will be monitored to ensure that the objectives and actions achieve the desired outcomes and Strategy goals, and that appropriate changes are made in response to the monitoring results. This adaptive approach will apply to management structures and mechanisms, as well as the allocation of resources.

¹ Government provision of services, regulation or incentives to encourage certain actions are described as "interventions" in the market.

² The benefits of Government interventions should exceed the costs, including direct and indirect costs. Direct costs relate to transactions, enforcement, monitoring, administrative and other management activities. Indirect costs include the cost of the Government crowding out voluntary initiatives and distorting the allocation of resources within the economy.

³ The OECD Report on Regulatory Reform, 1997.