Aquatic Environment and Biodiversity Annual Review 2012

AEBAR 2012: Appendices
12.8.2. Biosecurity Strategy
In its 2003 Biosecurity Strategy, The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s Biosecurity NZ defined
biosecurity as “the exclusion, eradication or effective management of risks posed by pests and
diseases to the economy, environment and human health”. New Zealand is highly dependent on
effective biosecurity measures because our indigenous flora, fauna, biodiversity, and, consequently,
our primary production industries, including fisheries are uniquely at risk from invasive species.
Information can be found on the Biosecurity New Zealand website at:
(http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/biosec/sys/strategy/biostrategy/biostrategynz
A complementary Biosecurity Science Strategy for New Zealand was developed in 2007 to address
the science expectations of the Biosecurity Strategy. The science strategy identified the need to:
• prioritise science needs;
• minimise biosecurity risks at the earliest stage possible by increasing focus on research that is
strategic and proactive;
• improve planning, integration and communication in the delivery of science;
• ensure research outputs can be used effectively to improve biosecurity operations and
decision making.
12.8.3. Marine Protected Areas Policy
The Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Policy and Implementation Plan was released for consultation in
December 2005 jointly by the Ministry of Fisheries and Department of Conservation. It confirmed
Government’s commitment to ensuring that New Zealand’s marine biodiversity was protected, and
established MPA Policy as a key component of that commitment. The MPA Policy objective is to
protect marine biodiversity by establishing a network of Marine Protected Areas that is
comprehensive and representative of New Zealand’s marine habitats and ecosystems. The Policy
involved a four-stage approach to implementation:
Stage 1: Development of the approach to classification, formulation of a standard of protection,
and mapping of existing protected areas and/or mechanisms. Scientific workshops
will be used to assist with the process, and the results will be put on the website for
comment
Stage 2: Development of the MPA inventory, identification of gaps in the MPA network, and
prioritisation of new MPAs
Stage 3: Establishment of new MPAs to meet gaps in the network. This will be undertaken at a
regional level and a national process will be followed for offshore MPAs
Stage 4: Evaluation and monitoring.
Stage 1 and the inventory specified for Stage 2 are complete and regional forums were established for
the Subantarctic and West Coast bioregions. In June 2009, these planning forums released
consultation documents on implementation of the MPA Policy in their bioregions:
Consultation Document - Implementation of the Marine Protected Areas Policy in the Territorial Seas
of the Subantarctic Biogeographic Region of New Zealand:
http://www.biodiversity.govt.nz/pdfs/seas/subantarctics-mpa-policy-consultation-document.pdf
Proposed Marine Protected Areas for the South Island’s West Coast Te Tai o Poutini: A public
consultation document:
http://www.westmarine.org.nz/documents/ProposedMPAsWestCoastSubmissiondocumentwebresv2.pdf
The MPA Classification, Protection Standard, Implementation Guidelines, together with a summary
of subsequent consultation processes around implementing the policy can be found on the
Government Biodiversity website at:
http://www.biodiversity.govt.nz/seas/biodiversity/protected/mpa_consultation.html
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