Indigenous biodiversity
Resource Management Act 1991 policy and plan implementation
The following approaches can help manage effects on biodiversity and ecology.
- Have early discussions with an applicant to clarify whether the proposed covenant could best be secured by a covenant with a third party (eg, Queen Elizabeth II National Trust covenant) or through encumbrances on the titles of the relevant lots or through a consent notice.
- Provide adequate advice to developers and technical support to the consent planners.
- Include consent conditions that require placement of covenants on the title. In general, these should be fully implemented before titles or bonds are released. These could include specific long-term management requirements that, for example, prevent or control predatory pets (cats and dogs) on rural properties.
- Council officers should ensure that the initial works are completed at the expense of the subdividing owner before properties are passed to subsequent owners. It is recommended that processes be developed and implemented to ensure that this is the case. Fencing needs to be completed and weed and pest management plans need to be produced. Initial weed removal and any installation of pest control networks (such as trap lines or bait stations) should also be completed before properties are on-sold. The best way to do this is to delay the issue of titles until these works are completed.
- Bonds should be used for conditions that may need a number of years to be fully implemented (eg, ‘revegetation using indigenous woody species that achieves indigenous canopy closure’). In these cases, the bond would need to be sufficiently large to ensure the planting and subsequent maintenance is undertaken.
- Where weeds are a major problem, a bond should be imposed to cover likely heavy weed control requirements in the first few years. The bond should be sufficient to cover the costs of undertaking the works.
- Ensure that the application and consent conditions have addressed the administration and management of the natural area in the long term.
- Consent notices should include a clause that allows councils to recover costs and requires owners to pay for monitoring at suitable intervals.
- Involve landowners. Many seem to be unclear about their responsibilities under the terms of the covenant or bond. This may be especially problematic for subsequent landowners. Landowners are often unsure about what they need to do to keep the bush and wetland areas in good condition. Involving landowners in a monitoring programme would encourage them to actively undertake fencing, and weed and pest control.
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Table 5: Level of compliance with council covenants required as a condition of resource consents versus voluntary QEII covenants
| Compliance ranking | % complying with Rodney District Council covenants, 2006(1) |
% complying with Waikato District Council covenants, 2001–02(2) |
% complying with Thames-Coromandel District Council covenants, 2006–07(3) |
% complying with QEII open space covenants, 2007–08(4) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poor | Poor and fair 73 |
10.7 | 14/11 | 2.25–2.6 |
| Fair | 53.8 | 46/23 | 16–15.3 | |
| Good/ excellent | 27 | 35.4 | 40/66 | 81.75–82.1 |
Sources
(1) Shona Myers (pers comm) from a sample of 22 monitored.
(2) Kessels (2004).
(3) Stewart & Stewart (2006) from a sample of 203 monitored; Stewart (2008) from a sample of 44 monitored.
(4) Queen Elizabeth II National Trust.
References
Kessels G. 2004. Action Bio-Community – In search of the right mix: An investigation of tools for biodiversity management. Kessels and Associates Limited.
Stewart P, Stewart R. 2006. Review of Thames Coromandel District Council Conservation Covenants, 1989 to 2006. Unpublished report for Thames Coromandel District Council. Guided Wellness report 2006/13.
Stewart P. 2006. TCDC covenant monitoring field report – 14 January 2008. Unpublished report for Thames Coromandel District Council.
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