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Database Title

11.1 Department of Conservation Land Register
Keywords
Type1.
Type 11.		 Protected areas; legal status; land; terrestrial; marine
Abstract

This is an electronic database which has specified administrative information about land of the Crown administered by the Department of Conservation and other specified land. It is associated with a system of map records and original source data held at the Conservancy level.

Primary records are for land of the Crown which the Department administers and holds under the following status:

  • Conservation Act
  • Reserves Act
  • National Parks Act
  • Wildlife Act
  • Marine Reserves Act
  • Marine Mammals Protection Act
  • Any other Act (excluding seabed or foreshore not set aside for a particular purpose).

Primary records also include land vested in an administrating body under the Reserves Act where a reversionary interest is held by the Crown.

Secondary records in the database are for private or Maori land which has legal protection by way of:

  • conservation covenant or Nga Whenua Rahui kawenata
  • lease to the Minister of Conservation
  • agreement under s76 Reserves Act
  • easement held by the Minister of Conservation
  • sanctuary refuge or management area under the Wildlife Act

The third group of records is for any other land on which information is kept in accordance with the practice of each Conservancy. It usually includes reserves where the notice of classification is given to the Department by a local authority under section 16(2B) Reserves Act.

Information is stored by "conservation units" (C.U.). The parcels of land that form a C.U. must have the following attributes in common:

  • legislative status
  • administrative group
  • conservation unit name
Geographical Coverage New Zealand including offshore islands and offshore island groups.
Dataset start date. Unknown
Dataset end date. Current
Status/currency. In progress
Update frequency. Records are updated, removed or added as required.

 

Technical Evaluation

  
Parameters- what is measured For each conservation unit the following are measured:
  • legislative status
  • administrative group (summarises administrative arrangements)
  • reserve classification for land under Reserves Act
  • legislative authority (mechanism by which legal protection was given to land)
  • land parcels
  • administrative unit (rural fire districts, DOC areas; regional council, territorial local authority; fire authority)
  • valuation references and rating authority
  • map sheet
Parameters- what is calculated
  • conservation units and their total area with a specific type of legal status.
  • conservation units and their total area in a doc administrative unit.
  • conservation units and their total area in a local authority unit city/district councils; regional council; fire authority).
  • conservation units in a map sheet
Methods used to measure parameters A manual specifies the procedures for entering/amending the relevant data for each conservation unit.
Secondary sources of data Maps of administrative unit boundaries.
Scale of use. Areas are recorded in hectares to 4 decimal places to tie into the Digital Cadastral Database. The measurements are not that accurate. National scale of DOC GIS system is 1:250,000.
Number of records Approximately 18,000 conservation units.
GIS compatibility. Each conservation unit has a digitised boundary link to the DOC GIS system. Currently national scale 1:250,000.
Available formats for users. Computer data; summary reports from electronic database. Paper cards are retained because the previous electronic system was not user friendly.
Access constraints. Anyone on DOC network has access. Public access may be possible - may be a cost.
Measurement Accuracy To be completed by database manager.
Completeness of dataset To be completed by database manager.
Positional accuracy To be completed by database manager.
Database steward Department of Conservation
Database custodian Department of Conservation
Database custodian contact person Les Jones
Database custodian Contact
Address
Phone
Fax
Email		 Science, Technical and Information Services
Department of Conservation
PO Box 10 240
Wellington
+64 4 471 0726
+64 4 471 1082
ljones@doc.govt.nz
References Land register user manual.
Date metadata record prepared. October 1999
Author of metadata record. Victoria Froude

 

Management Evaluation

  
Original purpose. The need for a Department of Conservation wide standard for recording information about land administered by the Department, and for its computerisation, was recognised in 1988. The original designers intended that the national land register would create a framework that would allow information on other land based activities of the Department to be computerised. When the Department changed its operating system in 1992, a variety of problems lead to a review of the land register. This review found that the register did not meet its original intentions in some aspects. As a consequence of the review a National Land Register Redevelopment Project was setup in 1996.
Relationships with classification systems. Links with administrative classification systems.
Relationships with other databases
  • links to DOC concessions database to give a list of concessions for each conservation unit.
  • scale for areas is linked to Digital Cadastral Database.
Known relationships with proposed EPIP indicators. Could contribute to:
  • % area of each of New Zealand's different marine environments, ecosystems and habitats under protection.
  • area of New Zealand coastline by region with: legally;physically; unrestricted public access.
Database uses? DOC staff.
Public awareness of the database Low for general public. Used by councils and organisations like LINZ.
Database strengths.
  • links with Digital Cadastral Database.
  • operates in the new technological environment of the Department.
  • more user friendly compared to past systems
  • can link easily to other databases through the DOC GIS.
  • direct link to DOC Concessions Database.
  • national system.
Database limitations.
  • actual area measurements are not as accurate as the database indicates.
  • there are no fields/links describing natural or historic features/values in the conservation units. This means that analysis by environment type is not possible at this stage.

 

What are the Current and Emerging Uses of the Database for:

  
Assisting with determining historic state/baseline. Could identify location and extent of protected areas in earlier years.
Assisting with determining current state/baseline. Identifies the location and extent of different types (by legislative status) of protected areas.
Assisting with modeling possible future outcomes. N/A
Risk assessment. N/A
Monitoring site selection and sample design. This would be possible if sampling is based on areas with different legislative status.
Aggregating and reporting data locally, regionally or nationally. Data can be reported locally (DOC area, city council/district council); regionally (regional council/unitary authority) and nationally.