Page 12 - 2008 NZ Subantarctic Islands

In 1987, responding to the huge losses in unique and endemic
bird species, the government passed the Conservation Act which

brought over one-third of New Zealand’s land area under the
control of the newly constituted Department of Conservation.

Previously separate agencies, such as the Forest Service, Wildlife
Service, Department of Lands and Survey and National Park
Service were subsumed under the new larger umbrella agency.

DOC, as it is affectionately and appreciatively called by the Kiwis,
thus gained unified control of all the efforts at restoring New

Zealand’s erstwhile paradise. The agency’s challenge as written
into the Act was “to manage the nation’s natural and historical

assets for the greatest benefit and enjoyment of all New
Zealanders, by conserving, advocating, and protecting the natural

and historical heritage so that its values are passed on
undiminished to future generations.” The leadership and the
members of the department have taken that challenge on directly

and have achieved results that are now the benchmarks for other
countries and organizations attempting to accomplish similar

ameliorations in their natural environments. Scientists and
program directors from nations all around the world visit New

Zealand to study DOC’s methods and achievements.

One other significant official act that has promoted DOC’s work
and affected most directly the areas we were privileged to visit on
this trip was the granting of the New Zealand SubAntarctic Island

World Heritage Site designation in 1998 by UNESCO. While this is
the most significant global honor a site can receive, it confers no

protection, monetary reward, or management for the area. The
individual country wherein the site is located has all that

responsibility. However, recently the World Heritage Site
Convention has taken steps to withdraw the designation in cases

where the site is exploited, reduced in size, despoiled or
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