12 November 2013 New leader’s vision goes beyond DOC boundaries

Community and iwi engagement, commercial partnerships, and an ecosystem approach are just some of the key future strategies for the Department of Conservation according to DOC’s recently appointed Director-General, Lou Sanson.

Mr Sanson outlined his vision for DOC as the guest speaker at Lincoln University’s annual State of the Nation’s Environment Address. His presentation was entitled Partnerships – an investment in sustainability.

According to Mr Sanson, New Zealand has a chance to be a world-leader in conservation, with both community and commercial enterprises playing a key role. He noted that growing these partnerships should not be seen as an abdication of responsibilities, but a reflection of the fact that, to be a world-leader, a mentality of conservation should “go beyond DOC land.”

Mr Sanson stressed DOC remains committed to its core work and would not walk away from its conservation services.

But to get real change in New Zealand’s environmental management he said the department needs to scale up conservation through working with others.

He told the gathering that Iwi-Maori were DOC’s cornerstone partners and he would also be looking hard at how DOC can better assist community conservation; particularly as DOC estimates that conservation has gained “four dollars return for every dollar invested in this area.”

Mr Sanson also noted that businesses now want to work with DOC and the success of recent commercial partnerships with such firms as Fonterra, Genesis Energy and Air New Zealand brought significant extra resources for conservation.

He pointed out the $2 million annually negotiated through DOC’s agreement with Fonterra was directed into community catchment management initiatives and this was a model DOC wanted to foster.

While still maintaining a focus on individual pests undermining DOCs conservation endeavours, Mr Sanson alluded to a desire to take a broader ecosystem approach with the Department’s strategy, noting that ecosystem awareness will be a “core message for DOC.” This ecosystem approach is crucial, he said, for supporting some of New Zealand’s less publicised or ‘dynamic’ organisms.

On the question of protecting New Zealand’s more prominent native creatures against harmful pests, Mr Sanson declared his support for the continued use of 1080 as a viable option for eradication. He asserted that there has been an “overall benefit from the use of 1080,” describing it as “the only current tool for dealing with exploding pest populations.”

Citing biosecurity as “one of the biggest threats to our economy,” Mr Sanson suggested that there needs to be a clearer protocol between DOC and the Ministry for Primary Industries.

In closing Mr Sanson reiterated his desire to enhance and preserve the New Zealand ecosystem and assured listeners that underwritten in his role as Director-General was a belief that, ultimately, it is New Zealanders that own DOC.

However, in raising the prominence of conservation in the New Zealand consciousness, Mr Sanson hopes to elevate DOC as an iconic brand of New Zealand and lift the profile of the DOC Ranger.