Helping our heritage

NEW APPROACH: Operation Tidy Fox volunteers collect rubbish along the banks of the Fox River on the West Coast in July 2019 after an old rubbish tip was exposed by heavy rains. A new strategy document from the Department of Conservation notes the importance of visitors contributing to the conservation of New Zealand's natural and cultural heritage. Conservation Minister Kiri Allan (inset) has said this could be as simple as planting a tree, or through such 'voluntourism' initiatives as Operation Tidy Fox. File picture

The Department of Conservation's (DoC's) new Heritage and Visitor Strategy is fully focused on protecting and enhancing the value of New Zealand's natural, cultural and historic heritage, says Conservation Minister and East Coast MP Kiri Allan.

It will also promote a sustainable environmental experience, she says.

“It has been a quarter of a century since DoC first developed a visitor strategy.

“Things have obviously changed quite a bit since then.

“Along with a significant increase in New Zealanders visiting conservation areas, there has been rapid growth and fluctuation in the number of international visitors, as well as changes in how people want to get into nature and connect with New Zealand's heritage.

“New Zealanders live in one of the most incredible places on Earth, with a natural, cultural and historical environment like no other.

“More than ever, people want to visit public conservation land and waters to experience our unique heritage.

The Heritage and Visitor Strategy, which was launched this week, provides “a framework for DoC to navigate the changing context for visitors and realise potential benefits for conservation and all New Zealanders”.

“The emphasis on heritage is important,” Ms Allan said.

“DoC may be best known as a caretaker for our native plants and wildlife, but its staff also manage the largest heritage portfolio in the country — over 13,000 sites across Aotearoa.

“The strategy aims to shift DoC into a more proactive space so it can anticipate and plan for future changes, create opportunities for visitors to support productive, sustainable and inclusive economies, and enhance community wellbeing.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted how DoC needs to be able to quickly adapt to fluctuating numbers and visitor patterns in the short-term.

“The long-term implications of Covid-19 are yet to be seen but in responding to the crisis and supporting recovery, there is an opportunity to reimagine a better future for New Zealand tourism,” she said.

The long-term goal is to build a system in which visitors contribute, directly or indirectly, to the conservation of New Zealand's natural and cultural heritage in the way the current international visitor conservation and tourism levy contributes to the facilities, places and species that international visitors come here to enjoy.

“This contribution could be planting a tree,” Ms Allan said.

“It could be checking a trapline, caring for huts and tracks, or in the form of a donation.

“It could be through ‘voluntourism' initiatives such as Operation Tidy Fox — the volunteer clean-up of thousands of tonnes of waste in the Fox riverbed in South Westland after floods in March 2019.

“The strategy, in line with the Conservation Act, is very clear: DoC's first priority is to protect the natural and cultural heritage it is charged with caring for on behalf of New Zealanders.”