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Biodiversity Native land cover
Legal protection of native land cover
Land under legal protection for conservation purposes includes public conservation lands managed by the Department of Conservation (DoC), parks managed by regional authorities, and private land protected under covenant by the QEII National Trust and Ngā Whenua Rāhui.
Current situation
Most legally protected land is part of the public conservation lands that cover large tracts of native forest and alpine areas. DoC is responsible for preserving and protecting these areas, including managing threats from invasive pests and diseases.
By October 2007, 8.43 million hectares of land were legally protected for conservation purposes in New Zealand. This includes public conservation lands managed by DoC and councils, and private land protected under covenants by the QEII National Trust and Ngā Whenua Rāhui.
Ngā Whenua Rāhui is a contestable fund that was established in 1991 to promote the voluntary protection of native ecosystems on Māori-owned land. In 2006, about 146,800 hectares of native ecosystems had been protected through this fund.
Legally protected areas - North Island, 2006
Data source: Landcare Research
Legally protected areas - South Island, 2006
Data source: Landcare Research
The maps above show the areas of the North and South Islands of New Zealand that had legal protection for conservation purposes in 2006 by the Department of Conservation, regional councils, QEII National Trust covenants and Ngā Whenua Rāhui covenants.
Recent trend
In 2004, 8.06 million hectares were set aside in New Zealand for public conservation land. By the end of October 2007, a total of 8.43 million hectares were legally protected, which is an increase of 4.56 per cent.
While most of the effort to protect New Zealand’s native vegetation occurs on legally protected land, efforts to protect native vegetation on private and council-owned land are increasing.
In 2004, a total of 146,280 hectares were registered as formally protected private land. By June 2006, registered QEII National Trust and Ngā Whenua Rāhui covenants formally protected a total of 221,473 hectares. The area on private land that is legally protected through these two mechanisms increased by 51.4 per cent over this two-year period.
As an example, the number of covenants processed through the QEII National Trust has continuously increased since it was established in 1977.
By June 2007, 82,933 hectares were legally protected through more than 2600 QEII National Trust covenants.
Total area protected by QEII covenants, 1982 - 2006
Data source: QEII National Trust.
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The QEII National Trust was established at the request of New Zealand farmers to protect open space on private land for the benefit and enjoyment of the present and future generations of New Zealanders. Some of New Zealand’s most endangered species find refuge in QEII National Trust covenanted areas.
This information has come from the latest national state of the environment report Environment New Zealand 2007.
Move to the other indicator for biodiversity: distribution of selected native species or return to the main environmental reporting page.
Last updated: December 2007
