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Nature in New Zealand
THE NATIONAL PARKS OF NEW ZEALAND
In this section, find information about these parks' main natural features
(physical aspects, climate, flora, fauna), and the activities offered.
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There are currently 14 national
parks in New Zealand, making up
over 10 percent of the land area of the country, and
37 percent of all land managed by the Department of
conservation. According to the National Park Act 1980
their aim is to protect those parts of the country
that "contain scenery of such distinctive quality,
ecological systems, or natural features so beautiful,
unique, or scientifically important that their preservation
is in the national interest". The Act affords
a great level of protection, and national park status
can be revoked only by an Act of Parliament.
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"The first ten national parks
established in New Zealand protected
some of the most scenically spectacular part of the
country. There is a strong emphasis in these first
parks on mountain scenery. While beautiful, these
national parks are not representative of the range
of New Zealand ecosystems, particularly lowlands.
Therefore, since the 1980s, the emphasis has been
on developing a more representative national park
system. Hence the establishment of Whanganui (includes
a major river system), Paparoa (includes lowland forest
and geological features) and Kahurangi (includes a
wide diversity of landforms and geology) National
Parks". Quoted from Departement of Conservation
Fact Sheet "National Parks Act 1980"
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A number of other areas have been
considered for protection with
national park status. The current projects
are:
- to establish the Kauri National Park (subject to
resolving iwi (Maori tribe) issues by 30 June 2000),
- to establish World Heritage status for the sub-antarctic
islands, by 30 June 2000,
Also, the possibility to grant national park status
to all or part of Stewart Island is now being studied.
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The National Park Act 1980
defines the policy principles to
be applied to National park management. These include:
preservation in their natural state; preservation
of native plants and animals and removal of introduced
ones, as far as possible; preservation of archaeological
and historical sites and objects; maintenance of soil,
water and forest conservation values; freedom of access
to the public, as far as possible.
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The Department
of Conservation spends a significant
amount of its resources in order to encourage and
facilitate the public use of national parks. Significant
resources are devoted to visitor centres, to the construction
and maintenance of facilities such as walkways, bridges,
huts, etc. However both environmental policy and resource
allocation priorities ensure that development and
human impact remain light in many areas. A number
of Wilderness Areas make sure that
nature there remains free of all human development
(paths, bridges, huts) as well as mechanical intrusion
(for example see Restoring
the Dawn Chorus- Department of Conservation Strategic
Plan 1998 - 2002).
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