Swiss botanists urge N.Z. to fight 'for its unspoilt beauty’

Press, 27 January 1987, Page 17

Swiss botanists urge N.Z. to fight 'for its unspoilt beauty’

By

JANE DUNBAR

New Zealand could be a model of development, says a visiting Swiss nature reserve curator. Florian Meier, who also works with the University Institute for Development Study in Geneva, and Martine Guex, a botanic artist, have been travelling throughout New Zealand since the beginning of November. Having enjoyed the pace of life here and been impressed by the beauty of certain regions, the couple believe that New Zealand is at a crossroad, and has the choice of following the unfortunate path of European countries such as Switzerland, or adopting a new way of thinking and taking other options. “There’s enormous potential for real quality of life here,” says Mr Meier. “You still have

areas of unspoilt beauty: Stewart Island for example. It is unique; a jewel of the world’s heritage. “To find a place like it is now, is quite amazing, and is certainly worth treasuring. “Of course, it’s a difficult task for a government and its organisations to manage this type of inheritance. The aim is to keep the region in a certain state, but also to allow public access; and it’s never easy when something doesn’t bring in a lot of money. "Two paths of development can be taken in such a case; either the one of business (the tendency of the consumer society) or the one which recog-

nises the tremendous value of the island kept in its natural state.

“I don’t mean business concerns aren’t important because obviously they are, but in the case of somewhere as unique as Stewart Island it’s to the benefit of the whole country if its beauty remains unspoilt. “In Europe, choices have been made and crises dealt with by always using the same old recipes which come to the minds of unimaginative people with a blind faith in the progress of the consumer society.

“New Zealand has the chance of doing things differently, of being a pioneer in the preparation of the ‘post-industrial era.’ The difference is the use of the principles of an ‘eco-develop-ment’; that is, a development which uses the world’s ecological knowledge so natural resources are used wisely and for the ultimate benefit of the people. “Jhe relative isolation of New Zealand, its climatic conditions, and its knowledge arid experience in conservation seems to me to provide favourable conditions for an ‘eco-development,’ with a major aim being selfreliance.

“By self-reliance I don’t mean there shouldn’t be an exchange of goods between New Zealand and the rest of the world; rather I mean the aim should be not being dependent on them. Selfreliance for basic needs like

food, housing, and clothes could easily be achieved here.” Mr Meier says that good management and proper use of imported resources could avoid the struggle to extend exportmarkets — a market which is not in any case easy to expand with mainly agricultural products.

“By cutting down on exports, imports too could be reduced, and the always increasing flux of goods (characteristic of consumer society) could be better controlled. Jobs could, then be created around the idea of a better use of resources, and in many cases this would give

workers increased job satisfaction. “The work of a mechanic who skilfully repairs a car, for example, is more rewarding than working on an assembly line churning out new cars.” “Eco-development” involves a new way of thinking, says Mr Meier, and is the way to increase a country’s quality of life and environment. He has a New Zealand friend who has been to Switzerland several times and thinks New Zealand is a long way behind in terms of development of the infrastructure of the country and modern development in general. “Certainly it’s true the gross national product (G.N.P.) is lower in New Zealand than in Switzerland, but is the G.N.P. really a good indicator of the quality of life in a country?” asks Mr Meier.

He says that although Switzerland is rich in terms of money it certainly is not in terms of quality of life. Buying a piece of land and building a house for your family, he says, can put you in debt for years, maybe even for life, because in such an overpopulated country as Switzerland land speculation is rife. The density of roads, highways, railways, and airports is incredible, he adds, and every second square metre of land is covered with concrete or asphalt. Each person pays considerable taxes for these things, but nevertheless there are many transport problems, and you have to go a long way to find somewhere to relax.

“Several times in New Zealand we’ve been able to spend at least 24 hours without hearing a whisper of a motor — in north-west Nelson and on Stewart Island for example,” he says. “Such possibilities are of tremendous value to quality of life, but try to do it in Switzerland or Western Europe!” Mr Meier points out Swiss people now have to travel far to find things they could once find close to their homes. What sort of progress is it, he asks, which has destroyed the quality of environment and pushed people into more stressful lives so they can earn enough money to go

looking somewhere else for that quality? “In Western Europe, an increasing amount of money is used to try to restore a certain quality of environment,” he says. “It is sad to live near the lake of Geneva, one of the largest in Europe, and see signs prohibiting swimming because of its pollution. “Even this very rich region of the planet is not certain of being able to bring back the health and biological equilibrium of the lake — the pride of the region. “In New Zealand, too, there is the situation where no matter how much money is spent on fighting erosion, the soil which is already lost has gone for good. This shows that even with a low human population vast regions can be heavily affected by human settlements arid activities. “Nonetheless, I’m convinced that a New Zealand with small population growth has a good chance of finding a path of development which is not based on the industrial growth which so threatens non-renewable natural resources. “The development of the world simply can’t keep going in the same direction it is at the

moment; new choices have to be made, and New Zealand is just the place for it.” Mr Meier believes New Zealand is still in a healthy enough state to have the option of working towards ‘‘eco-develop-ment.” For many other countries, he fears, it would be more difficult to achieve, because they are already so entangled with their complex problems. Regrettably, he says, there are certain signs of development in New Zealand which are not pointing in the direction of “ecodevelopment.” The intention to change from milk bottles to milk cartons, for example, would be a waste of resources. He stresses that changes often happen without anyone noticing before it is too late. Many things which people took for granted in Switzerland — such as fresh air and clean water — are now remembered with nostalgia. The Swiss Government recently set its aim for air pollution levels to be that of the 19505. Mr Meier finds it ironic that people refer to New Zealand as “backward” when countries such as Switzerland now want to go backwards themselves.