Non-forested areas

Press, 16 December 1985, Page 12

Non-forested areas

Sir,—As significant internationally as our indigenous forests are the forgotten habitats — tussock grasslands, shrublands, wetlands, dune lands. The extent of .New Zealand’s remarkable natural diversity is evidenced by our 84 ecological regions, compared with Canada’s 48. Yet Canada is well on the way to establishing a national park in each of her regions, while the likelihood of us achieving even any reserves in some of ours grows less as the crucial protected natural areas programme stumbles for lack of funds, which are still available for land clearance and drainage. Ironically, in this year of environmental upheaval the most positive move for non-forested ecosystems was made by the Forest Service when in March it extended a revised indigenous forest policy to include “natural vegetation considered locally important as native wildlife habitat or as representative of a vegetation type otherwise rare in the ecological district or region.”—Yours, etc., ERIC BENNETT. Wellington, December 12, 1985.