The Banks Peninsula Marine Mammal Sanctuary : a recreation - conservation conflict

Abstract

The Hector's dolphin Marine Mammal Sanctuary was established around Banks Peninsula, on the East Coast of New Zealand's South Island, in December 1988. The sanctuary was established to protect the local population of the endemic Hector's dolphin from accidental entanglement in both recreational and commercial set nets. The conflict over the appropriateness of the sanctuary emerged during the proposal stages of the sanctuary and has persisted over the eight years since its inception. The positions of those involved in the conflict have become entrenched and polarised over that time to the point where many consider the conflict to be intractable.

Conflict has been identified as a product of change which compels people to defend their values and beliefs. There are both subjective and objective social conditions which culminate in conflict. The complexity of the factors which interact to form a conflict situation necessitate the use of a variety of methods in order to understand them. This research used a quantitative method in the form of a questionnaire survey, and qualitative methods in the form of in-depth interviews, participant observation and archival searches to investigate the underlying causes of the Banks Peninsula Marine Mammal Sanctuary conflict.

The objective condition which underlies the Banks Peninsula Marine Mammal Sanctuary conflict is the removal of traditional recreational access to a commons resource. The reason for curtailing the recreational activity was a concern that a unique population of dolphin was in decline owing to high rates of accidental entanglement in set nets.

The development of the conflict can be traced through the language used by participants to defend their positions. The claims people make and the forms of rhetoric which they employ to convey their ideas reflect their goals for the situation and their underlying beliefs.

Conflict over the management of natural resources is an inevitable result of the different perceptions of appropriate use that are held by those who have an interest in the resource. These subjective perceptions are the culmination of the values, belief systems and priorities of the individuals who hold them. An inadequate public participation process and a decision making system which relies heavily on 'scientific' information, has exacerbated this process because it is incapable of giving full consideration to the values that are important to traditional user groups.