Cleanups part of tourism deals

The right to sell drinks at Cathedral Cove in exchange for tidying the Coromandel Beach could be a taste of things to come. Photo / Alan Gibson

Tourist operators such as rafting companies and bungee operators will increasingly be asked to trap pests and carry out other work on conservation land in exchange for use of some of the country's most beautiful spots.

And as part of an efficiency drive the Conservation Department is setting up a new commercial business unit that could manage fees for huts and walks and is likely to drive changes to the concession system that private companies use to get permission to use conservation land.

"The deal [with businesses] is we will work better with you and give you a better deal and you need to be engaged in conservation work ... If you want to do something to get commercial gain you need to not just be covering off your footprint but doing things for conservation," said director-general Al Morrison.

He said the move was not prompted by a Budget edict to shave $54 million - $13.5 million a year - from the department's spending over four years.

"What's driving us is that we get more conservation work done - not just the work that we do," he said.

"This started long before our baseline was cut. But certainly the cut in the baseline is focusing us on that."

DoC manages a third of New Zealand's land and Mr Morrison said more than 4500 private-sector businesses relied on that land.

A review carried out over the past few years had asked if tourist and other businesses were getting a fair deal from the department.

Business lobbyists representing companies that use conservation land - which include ski fields, energy companies, bungee jumpers, farmers and whale watchers - had criticised inconsistencies and long delays in DoC's concession system.

"We didn't come up smelling of roses," said Mr Morrison.

A report to Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson about how to improve services to concession holders was due in the next few weeks, he said.

The appearance of a drinks stall at unspoilt Cathedral Cove this summer outraged some visitors but owner Shanan Laird said he was leaving the beach cleaner under the terms of his deal with DoC.

Mr Morrison said other companies were already bartering conservation work for their concessions:

"[Mining company] Solid Energy, for instance, is doing pest control over an area of Kahurangi National Park.

"We've got a tourism operator who used to go down the river and point out where the stoat traps are, and now people are sponsoring those stoat traps," he said. "You can go and sell cold drinks at Cathedral Cove and the deal is you clean up the beach. That may sound simple but that means we don't have to send someone [to do it]."

Labour conservation spokeswoman Steve Chadwick said she had no problem with trading access to land for a net benefit to the conservation estate as long as the department kept a close eye to make sure the promised benefits were delivered.