Forest & Bird backs better coastal planning

Forest & Bird calls on the Minister of Conservation to better protect New Zealand’s coastline by following up on a report the Government refuses to release.

Forest & Bird North Island Conservation Manager Mark Bellingham applauds the change in direction recommended in the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement. “The new policy statement addresses the conservation and development issues facing our coasts. This report should not languish on the minister’s desk. Delays will exacerbate the current coastal planning shambles.”

One of the report’s authors, Philip Woollaston, today publicly released the statement because of his anger at the Government’s refusal to release it.

“The Government is not properly managing coastal planning. We need the Department of Conservation and local government to be more active in taking care of our coastlines,” Mark Bellingham says.

“Poor coastal planning is about to drive the New Zealand fairy tern in Auckland and Northland to extinction as coastal developments encroach on this bird’s last few breeding sites.

“On the Hauraki Plains, nutrients from dairy farming are threatening to unleash a major algal bloom on to the Firth of Thames, the Miranda bird coast and aquaculture areas.

“This report recognises the threats to coastal landscapes and biodiversity. It offers solutions to water pollution from the land affecting coastal areas, and encourages a bigger role for iwi and hapu in coastal planning and management. Forest & Bird wants to see it put into action.”

ENDS

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