Government Cancels Mineral Prospecting Plans In National Parks…But Presses Ahead In UNESCO World Heritage Site

WWF-New Zealand has welcomed the Government’s decision to withdraw plans for mineral prospecting in national parks, but stated the proposal should never have been on the table in the first place.

“It is positive that the Government is no longer considering prospecting for minerals in high value conservation land protected in Schedule 4, and this result is to the credit of the many thousands of New Zealanders who stood up to the Government on this critically important issue. But this proposal should never have been on the table in the first place,” said WWF-New Zealand’s Executive Director Chris Howe.

“It has taken an expensive and time consuming consultation process for Minister Brownlee to grasp what most New Zealanders understand as common sense - that we should not prospect for minerals on land that has been protected from mineral extraction,” said WWF’s Chris Howe.

WWF has serious concerns about the Government proposal to encourage prospecting for minerals in conservation land not protected in Schedule 4. Minister Brownlee today claimed that public opposition to mining Schedule 4 land was a ‘clear mandate’ for prospecting for minerals in other areas, which WWF branded as “fundamental and deliberate misinterpretation”.

“The consultation did not ask about prospecting in the rest of New Zealand, and the public opposition does not imply New Zealanders have given a green light for prospecting in other conservation areas. If anything, it demonstrates the opposite,” said Chris Howe.

The areas proposed by the Government for mineral prospecting include part of one of only three UNESCO World Heritage Areas in New Zealand - Te Wāhipounamu – and the Te Paki Ecological District, an area of significant ecological diversity in Northland.

Te Wāhipounamu is the South West New Zealand World Heritage area regarded as one of the world’s best examples of a dynamic mountainous landscape. As the least modified region on mainland New Zealand, Te Wāhipounamu is important for the conservation of many animals which have disappeared from other parts of New Zealand. Takahe, South Island brown kiwi and mohua (yellowhead) are just a few of the endangered or threatened animals which still survive in this vast wilderness.

“These are significant areas for native species. They should not be put at risk from exploitation by the mining industry if minerals are found under them. Mineral extraction is, by its very nature, non-renewable and inevitably damages or destroys habitat and the wildlife that lives there. We, along with our conservation colleagues will continue to challenge the Government’s agenda to put the short-term, limited economics of mineral prospecting ahead of conservation of our natural heritage.”

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