Kermadec Sanctuary will get go-ahead – but raises political questions
There are very few pristine environments left in the world. New Zealand has one of them – and it is finally about to be protected. It’s taken six frustrating years – but the Kermadec/Rangita¯ hua Ocean Sanctuary will soon get the green light from Government.
After careful consideration by Cabinet, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is set to announce the ‘‘next steps’’ to develop the 620,000 square kilometre reserve. (The Beehive is nervous that this could still be derailed by litigation). It seems most likely this will take a temporary form, for perhaps a decade, while the Government consults with iwi about how best to manage the sanctuary. It’s expected the legislation will be introduced before the end of September.
Twice the size of New Zealand’s land mass, it will be one of the world’s largest. It supports life not found anywhere else on the planet: home to 431 fish species, six million seabirds, three types of endangered sea turtles, and more than 250 species of coral and aquatic invertebrates.
It is geologically significant, with the world’s longest chain of submerged volcanoes and the second-deepest ocean trench, plunging to depths of 10km – deeper than Mount Everest is tall.
Remote and largely uninhabited, most will never get the chance to visit this subtropic island arc, around 1000km north-east of the North Island. And that’s what makes it so special – for millennia, it has thrived untouched by human activity.
The ocean is a buffer from the worst effects of climate change – it absorbs one-third of carbon dioxide emissions. Now more than ever we need to rely on healthy ocean habitats, so it is vital we decrease the amount of stress placed on it.
Culturally, the protection is also important, honouring the islands’ spiritual significance and maritime history.
The smattering of islands is rangita¯ hua (stopping off places) for Nga¯ ti Kuri – one of the primary
advocates of an expansive sanctuary, and Te Aupo¯ uri.
Its creation is cause for celebration. But it has been fraught by delays, controversy and frankly, selfish human greed.
In 2015, then PM John Key told the UN General Assembly of plans to create the sanctuary, and ban fishing and mining in the area.
The announcement made positive headlines – the Kermadec region would join three other key areas in the Pacific, protected by the US, UK and Australia, putting 3.5 million sq km of the ocean under protection.
But back home, not everyone was cheering. With no forewarning from government, Ma¯ ori commercial fishing interests voiced opposition.
They argued Ma¯ ori would no longer be able to source commercial quota from that area. (Officials calculated the catch was small – about 20 tonnes, worth roughly $165,000 a year.) Believing this would override fishing rights enshrined in the ‘‘Sealord Deal’’ – a 1992 commercial fisheries settlement – Ma¯ ori fisheries trust Te Ohu Kaimoana (TOKM) took legal action.
They also used the analogy of a vacant lot of land that they own and are waiting to develop, and that this right to future opportunities was being taken away.
It’s important to note that at that time, National was also making noises about overhauling outdated marine protection legislation. The litigation should be seen in that context: TOKM was bearing its teeth.
The issue destabilised the government, with the Ma¯ ori Party threatening to cut ties with National.
Labour has been wrangling with TOKM ever since, and made very little progress while NZ First was in office.
It is testament to the patience of Oceans and Fisheries Minister David Parker, who was still expressing faith that a compromise would be reached when almost everybody else had given up hope.
But there are still significant hurdles to clear. Critics of co-governance will be sharpening their knives because whatever model of management they land on could show up some obvious flaws.
It’s a similar problem that holds up many Treaty settlement negotiations – who holds the mandate? Marine conservationists are perturbed that the Government hammered out a deal with TOKM, who hold commercial interests, when mana whenua Nga¯ ti Kuri weren’t in the room.
There is concern management will fall to TOKM, ahead of Nga¯ ti Kuri and Te Aupo¯ uri, as kaitiaki.
And there is much more at stake than just the sanctuary. The international community is demanding we place 30 per cent of our ocean under protection by 2030. (The Kermadecs would take our tally from 0.4 per cent to 15 per cent.)
To do that, the Government needs to pursue that long-overdue work on marine protection legislation, which is now part of a huge overhaul of all conservation laws.
This deal will raise questions about whether the Government has the social licence to pursue cogovernance as part of these reforms, and through what process of consultation and engagement.
The deep, clear waters of the Kermadec Islands are well known for their volatile seismic activity. Once again they are about to send rumblings through the political landscape.