National reserves of New Zealand

A national reserve in New Zealand is a reserve that has been designated as having national importance under section 16 of the Reserves Act 1977.[1] They are administered by the Department of Conservation.

Legislation

Section 13 of the Reserves Act 1977 ("Governor-General may declare reserve to be national reserve") deals with national reserves. It is outlined that the governor-general can, through Order in Council (i.e. a process by which a government's decision is given effect) and made on recommendation by the minister (i.e. the Minister of Conservation, as that minister is responsible for the Department of Conservation), declare national reserves.

Existing national reserves

The national reserves include:

The Cook Landing Site and Waitangi reserves are small reserves with historic value. The Lewis Pass reserve is much larger (13,737 hectares), with conservation values, including parts with scenic and ecological values.[1] The Subantarctic Islands are collectively a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[2]

Other areas

The area known as the Waitangi National Reserve,[1] where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed, is not a national reserve, despite its name. The area has never been a national reserve (or any other kind of reserve) under the Reserves Act. It has always been administered by the Waitangi National Trust Board under the Waitangi National Trust Board Act 1932.[3]

Takapūneke is the site of an 1830 massacre adjacent to present-day Akaroa. The historical significance has not always been known and in 1960, Akaroa County built a sewage treatment plant in the area that was the core of the kāinga. In 2018, Christchurch City Council asked the Minister of Conservation to declare Takapūneke Reserve a national reserve.[4][5]

See also

References
  1. "Submission to Local Government and Environment Committee" (PDF). The Royal Forest & Bird Protection Society. 17 September 2010. pp. 7–8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  2. "New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 13 December 2015. the five island groups have each been identified as National Reserves, which acknowledges "values of national or international significance" (section 13 Reserves Act 1977)
  3. "Notes for Department of Conservation's Response to Local Government and Environment Select Committee in Regard to Petition 2008/93 of Quentin Duthie". Department of Conservation. 10 March 2011. p. 4. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  4. "Takapūneke Reserve may get national status". Stuff. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  5. Takapūneke Reserve Management Plan (PDF). Christchurch City Council. 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
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