Call for legal protection of private land

Press, 27 April 1989, Page 21

Call for legal protection of private land

By

WILLIAM HOBBS

in Nelson Conservationists are working on proposals for private land to get protected status in exchange for rate relief or other publicly funded incentives. The director of the Maruia Society, Mr Guy Salmon, said the proposal was aimed at giving legal protection to landscapes and coastal lands where there were conflicting pressures on owners for development and for conservation. The concept was that of a national park also embracing private land on agreed terms with the owners in the style of English national parks. The Maruia Society hoped to have a detailed proposal to present to the Government by the middle of the year and planned to hold extensive discussions before then

with park boards, local authorities, Federated Farmers and Maori land authorities. Mr Salmon said involvement of landowners would have to be voluntary and it was important to achieve widespread agreement on details of the scheme before it was presented. "We envisage the proposal would build on a number of existing concepts like walkways, private scenic reserves, covenants, rating relief and district scheme planning and bring them together,” he said. Many local authorities were already taking useful steps to protect the environment but new legislative tools and imaginative . approaches were needed to deal with the problem of forest loss caused by development pressures. The Maruia Society’s

concept would be of help on private land close to large public conservation areas and on coastal frontages.

Two specific areas seen as being suitable for such a scheme were the Coromandel Peninsula and the Waitakere Ranges west of Auckland, where district scheme controls seemed unable to prevent subdivision and development from gradually degrading the character of the ranges.

“Landowners really need to be offered an incentive such as rate relief to enter coventants to protect bush on their properties,” Mr Salmon said. “This in turn should be financed by the wider community which draws benefits from the (Waitakere) Ranges such as recreational opportunities, water supplies and nature heritage protection.”