Annex Two - NZBS Strategy

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		Annex Two: Preparation of the New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy

The NZBS Strategy

	Contents

	Foreword

	Executive Summary

	Part One

	Part Two

	Part Three

	Part Four

	Annex One

	Annex Two

	Glossary

	Suggestions for Further Reading

A short history
New Zealand attended the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 and signed, along with 150 other nation states, the Convention on Biological Diversity. Ratification in 1993 confirmed our commitment to a range of provisions aimed at conserving and sustainably using and sharing New Zealand's biodiversity. Among these provisions was the requirement to "prepare national strategies, plans or programmes" to give effect to the Convention in a New Zealand context.

New Zealand has long recognised and responded to problems of biodiversity decline. However, these responses have tended to be on a regional or local scale or focused on individual places and species. The conclusion of The State of New Zealand's Environment report (1997) - that biodiversity decline is New Zealand's most pervasive environmental issue (both extensive and multi-faceted) - confirmed the need for a comprehensive national approach to better address threats to our biodiversity.

The Government approved the preparation of a national biodiversity strategy in 1995 through the Environment 2010 Strategy and the process was initiated in 1996.

The process
The development of the New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy was led by the Department of Conservation, with the Ministry for the Environment. Thirteen other central government agencies were also involved:

Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry;
Ministry of Fisheries;
Ministry of Commerce;
Te Puni Kokiri/Ministry of Maori Development;
Ministry of Research, Science and Technology;
Foundation for Research, Science and Technology;
State Services Commission;
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade;
Office of Treaty Settlements;
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet;
Department of Women's Affairs;
Department of Internal Affairs; and
The Treasury.

Involvement of all agencies with interests in biodiversity management was important to gain broad government ownership of the Strategy and to integrate biodiversity objectives across sectors. These agencies contributed to a Draft Strategy - "Our Chance to Turn the Tide" - which was released by Rt Hon. Jenny Shipley in January 1999 for public consultation. Consultation

Consultation on the Draft Biodiversity Strategy ran from February to April 1999 and included workshops, meetings and hui with a broad range of agencies, groups and individuals involved in, or with interests in, biodiversity management. Around 50 consultation meetings were held during this period, throughout all regions of the country.

Target groups included: iwi and hapu; regional and city/district councils; conservation boards and the New Zealand Conservation Authority; Department of Conservation conservancies; fish and game councils; Queen Elizabeth II Trust; farming, forestry and horticulture sector groups; environmental and community groups; landowners; science and research organisations; and concerned individuals.

Following the theme of "opening a dialogue about biodiversity", the purpose of consultation was to seek:

an emerging consensus on New Zealand's national biodiversity goals;
a growing understanding of regional biodiversity issues and community needs; and
feedback on the Draft Strategy.

Submissions
Just over 7800 submissions were made on the Draft Strategy. A large number of these (6900) were form letters petitioning the Prime Minister to "save the kiwi" and offering support for goal level 2 in the draft Strategy. A further 437 submissions were exclusively aimed at broadening the Strategy to provide for "valued introduced species". The remaining submissions (466) addressed a range of issues, primarily about the decline of New Zealand's indigenous biodiversity.

A Summary of Submissions report was prepared by Tonkin & Taylor Ltd, grouping and analysing issues raised in submissions.

Overall, the Draft Strategy received a broad level of support. Most groups and submitters concurred with the need for a national biodiversity strategy and its overall direction; there was also general support for many of the biodiversity issues identified and the actions to address these. Feedback from consultation and submissions have helped to improve the New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy by:

confirming a set of national biodiversity goals and principles;
refining, correcting, and adding to, a comprehensive set of biodiversity issue statements and corresponding action plans; and
affirming roles and responsibilities in biodiversity management and priority actions for the first five years of implementation.