Private guardians welcome

RECENTLY I attended a conservation fundraiser where the delightful Ruud Kleinpaste, better known as the Bugman, entertained us with insights into insects, biodiversity and a sustainable world.

It was my second catch-up with Ruud in a month as he'd been at our local museum, Puke Ariki, just two weeks earlier. The school holiday session was packed out with hundreds of people present, so my boys didn't get the personal connection they had hoped for.

Mr Five was disappointed he didn't get to ask the Bugman whether a tarantula could kill a human (I asked Ruud later - apparently no), while Mr Three wanted to know why he had kept his clothes on - he was expecting a nudey Ruudy!

Being at the Rotokare Scenic Reserve Trust's art auction in Eltham, where Ruud was a guest speaker, boldly illustrated what Naomi Klein describes in her book This Changes Everything - that conservation has an "unusually elite history".

Now I've always known the history of conservation is conservative, literally implied in the word itself, but it was the first time I thought about it differently - the room was filled with older white guys.

As Klein wrote: "When conservationism emerged as a powerful force in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was primarily about men of privilege who enjoyed fishing, hunting, camping, and hiking and who recognised that many of their favourite wilderness spots were under threat from the rapid expansion of industrialisation."

In New Zealand, there has been a real growth in recent years in private, philanthropist-led conservation movements, which are making a positive difference. I also have a history of working with some of the long-standing trusts - including both the Kiwi for Kiwis Trust and Project Crimson with Ruud - and know the intent is to sincerely protect our special and unique species, bush, coastlines and waterways.

But I started wondering for the first time whether some of the contributions these former captains of industry were making in their retirement were motivated by taking too much when they weren't working for the environment? Was this increase in private-led conservation due in part to regret, to realising that we haven't got the balance right with our development that they have been part of?

To give them their due, this is not just a continuation of protecting cherished pockets for exclusive use - there is some significant research investment happening and wider partnerships with communities beyond private estates.

And while we need to protect special places and threatened species, there is another way - not hammering the environment everywhere else!

The concept that we sacrifice areas for development because we have national parks and reserves does not underpin society's values any more - if it ever did. We require intelligent and considered developments guided by stronger regulations, clear standards, innovative design and new technologies.

We know so much more now, including not least, the health and wellbeing values of being around green places. It shouldn't just be in our precious places in our retirement years - we need to find a way to make conservation work now.

- Nicola Young has worked in the government and private sectors in Australia and New Zealand and now works from home in Taranaki for a national charitable foundation. Educated at Wanganui Girls' College, she has a science degree and is the mother of two boys.