New Zealand's 'wild and scenic rivers': Geographical aspects of 30 years of water conservation orders

Abstract

Attempts to protect and preserve New Zealand's wild and scenic rivers received statutory support in 1981 through amendments to the Water and Soil Conservation Act 1967. These legislative provisions, Water Conservation Orders, were retained in the Resource Management Act 1991, although there was a broadening of the type of waters and range of values that could be protected. An analysis of the 15 water conservation orders granted enabled the identification of a typology that reveals some distinctive geographic and temporal patterns.