The South West New Zealand World Heritage nomination; issues and implications in South Westland: RESM 603 case study, Centre for Resource Management

Abstract

On 27 February 1989 the Government announced its decision to allocate the State Forests South of the Cook River to the Department of Conservation (DOC) and to nominate these forests, along with other land already allocated to the Department, as a World Heritage Area under the World Heritage Convention 1972 (Palmer,1989). This decision was the culmination of a decade of debate about the future of the forests, and is the focal point of this study. As a consequence of early investigations and a trip to the West Coast two broad problems became apparent. Firstly, while the decision to nominate and to complete the nomination by October had been made, there were many issues of national, regional and local significance which had not been addressed. Secondly, there were very few specific guidelines in the World Heritage Convention as to how such areas should be managed. The way in which the area and its management are presented in the nomination to the World Heritage Committee could be very influential in determining the nature and form of any South West New Zealand World Heritage Area. Various options for the form and content of this nomination have therefore become the focus of this study. Underlying the report is a notion that while the decision to nominate may have been made it should not be assumed that the application of World Heritage status will automatically mean an end to conflict and discussion within and about the area either in terms of specific proposals or its overall management.