Te Wahipounamu

The vegetation in Te Wahipounamu is diverse and in essentially pristine condition. On the mountains there is a rich alpine vegetation of shrubs, tussocks and herbs. The warmer and lower altitude rainforests are dominated by tall podocarps. There are more rainforests and wetlands in the west, and the most extensive and least modified natural freshwater wetlands in New Zealand are found in this area. The Westland coastal plain is characterized by its high-fertility swamps and low-fertility peat bogs.

Te Wahipounamu is home to many indigenous animals and contains the largest and most significant population of forest birds in the country. The total wild population, which is only about 170 birds, of the takahe is found in a few mountain valleys in the Fiordland harbor. Along the south-west coast, most of New Zealand's Fur Seals are found. Also found in this region are Southern Brown Kiwi, Great Spotted Kiwi, Yellow-crowned parakeet, Fiordland Penguin, New Zealand Falcon, and Brown teal. The world's rarest and heaviest parrot, kakapo, was found in this region until the early 1980s. It is now believed that it is extinct on the mainland.[2]

The Te Wahipounamu area is the least populated part of New Zealand.[3] Most residents work in tourism related jobs but there are other land use occupations. On the coast residents engage in fishing, grazing, and small-scale mining. In the eastern part of the World Heritage area pastoralism is the main land use. Sheep and cattle grazing is permitted under license or lease, although designation of Te Wahipounamu as a World Heritage site has limited the lands available for these practices.

Te Wahipounamu is one of the most seismically active regions in the world. It lies across the boundary of two plates, the Pacific plate and the Indo-Australian plate. The mountains in the area are a result of tectonic movements over the last five million years.[3] Glaciers are also a major feature of the area. Their basic pattern was set during the Pleistocene glaciations although there have been substantial post-glacial changes. These changes are greater in the Southern Alps than in the Fiordlands. Typical changes include intense gullying, serrated ridges, and major and minor rockfalls. Landslides, although not frequent, are a potential hazard of the region. Even with the low density of settlements and transport corridors, there is the potential occurrence of landslides in the vicinity of tourist infrastructure in the Southern Alps.[4]

The legend as to the formation of this region and the South Island is as follows. Te Wahipounamu was formed when the four sons of Rakinui, the Sky Father, descended from the heavens and set out on a voyage around Papatuanuku, the Earth Mother. During this voyage their canoe hit a reef and the brothers found themselves stranded. An icy wind from the Tasman Sea froze them into stone and their canoe became the South Island of New Zealand. The tallest of the brothers was Aoraki and he is now Aoraki Mt. Cook while his brothers and the other crewmembers form the rest of the Southern Alps.[5]

The Maori also have a legend for the formation of Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers. This legend begins with Hinehukatere who loved climbing in the mountains. One day she persuaded her lover, Tawe, to join her. An avalanche killed Tawe and he came to rest in Fox Glacier. The traditional Maori name for the glacier is Te Moeke o Tauwe, which means the bed of Tauwe. After Tauwe's death, Hinehukatere was heartbroken and cried so many tears. These tears froze to form Franz Josef Glacier. The Maori name for Franz Josef Glacier is Ka Roimata o Hinehukatere which means the tears of Hinehukatere.[5]

The area was, and continues to be, an important source of pounamu greenstone or jade. This precious stone is used for making Maori tools, weapons, and jewelry.

Most of the land in Te Wahipounamu is owned by the Crown (government and the people of New Zealand) and administered by the Department of Conservation (New Zealand). The most important regulations are the National Parks Act 1980, the Conservation Act 1987, and Reserves Act 1977, which were not made specifically for Te Wahipounamu but apply as they are for all of New Zealand. There is a legislative mandate for the preservation and protection of natural and historic resources to maintain their intrinsic value, provide for their appreciation and recreational enjoyment by the public, and safeguard options of future generations.[2]

The Treaty of Waitangi grants the Ngāi Tahu people prestige and authority over the land. The Department of Conservation is obligated to oblige to the principles of this treaty. This implies a partnership agreement with the Ngāi Tahu people. This partnership involves an annual business planning process with the Ngāi Tahu iwi (the overarching tribal authority), which gives the Ngāi Tahu an opportunity to engage in and contribute to the operational management of the property.[2]

The treaty was not always honored though, but a settlement was made around the time Te Wahipounamu was declared a World Heritage Area.[6] The implications of this settlement were threefold. First Mount Cook became Aoraki / Mount Cook and 88 other topographic features were agreed to have dual Maori/English names. Secondly, the title for Aoraki was returned to the Ngāi Tahu Tribe who then in turn gifted it to the people of New Zealand. And finally the Tribe was given rights of access and temporary occupancy for the gathering of traditional foods and materials.

There are four main planning entities for developing the management framework for the wilderness resources of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Area.[6] The first entity is legislation. New Zealand does not have any legislation specific to the World Heritage Site and therefore Te Wahipounamu is managed under the previously mentioned legislation (National Parks Act, Conservation Act, Reserves Act). The second entity is visitor strategy. The Department of Conservation manages all sites within Te Wahipounamu under the Visitor Strategy. This strategy divides visitors into seven groups based on the length of their stay and the type of activities they seek. It then provides quality recreational opportunities for these groups and facilities when appropriate. The third entity is conservation management strategies. These are documents stating regional conservation and they outline strategic priorities and key sites for biodiversity conservation and visitor recreation. The final planning entity is management plans. Management plans are created for specific sites within Te Wahipounamu. Each National Park has its own management plan.

Within Te Wahipounamu there are four wilderness areas. These areas are Hooker-Landsborough, which covers 41,000 ha, Olivine (80,000 ha), Pembroke (18,000 ha) and Glaisnock (125,000 ha). Together these wilderness areas make up 10% of the total area of Te Wahipounamu.[6] They are managed strictly in terms of the New Zealand Wilderness Policy. This policy defines wilderness areas as “wildlands that appear to have been affected only by the forces of nature, with any imprint of human interference substantially unnoticeable. Designated wilderness areas are managed to perpetuate their natural condition.”[12] There are no visitor facilities in these areas. No roads, huts, bridges, or even tracks. And there is no air access for recreational or commercial purposes. Visitors enter these areas “on nature’s terms”.

The wilderness areas perpetuate ideas of purity and nature that have long existed. John Muir and Aldo Leopold advocated for the protection of the American wilderness and wilderness ideas were one of the foundations for the environmental movement in the United States.[13] The New Zealand Wilderness Policy mirrors these ideas with criteria about having this protected land for enjoyment but keeping it virtually untouched by humans. The continuing rise in tourism to New Zealand is affecting this experience though. There are perceptions of crowding on several of the backcountry tramping tracks. This effects and minimizes the desired experience of wilderness and solitude.[8]