Survey of New Zealand Department of Conservation staff involved in the management and recovery of threatened species

In terms of managing biodiversity, a third of the land area of New Zealand is included in a conservation estate of national parks, reserves and sanctuaries. Administration of this large natural heritage asset is by 13 separate Department of Conservation (DOC) conservancies. A survey was conducted, across all conservancies, of DOC staff directly involved with the management and recovery of threatened New Zealand species. The aim of the survey was to gain an insight into how DOC staff regard the management tools available to them for the recovery of threatened species. The survey also assessed the perceived relevance of the threatened species recovery plans (TSRPs) currently in use by these staff. The results of the survey show that in general, the DOC staff consider that a lack of adequate funding, poor communication between conservancies and staff shortages have resulted in failure to achieve comprehensive management and recovery of threatened species. There was an expectation for TSRPs to comprehensively guide management and recovery actions but most staff concluded that TSRPs failed to meet this objective. It was identified that TSRPs need to be kept up-to-date and preferably in an electronic format accessible to all DOC staff throughout New Zealand. There was strong support for the establishment of a national approach for the recovery of threatened species. Concern was expressed that current resourcing only allowed recovery of a very small number of New Zealand’s threatened species with staff calling for secure funding for the duration of threatened species recovery programmes.