Conservation and Minimal Use
Land that has a relatively low level of human intervention. The land may be formally reserved by government for conservation purposes, or conserved through other legal or administrative arrangements. Areas may have multiple uses but nature conservation is a central consideration. (Some land may be unused because of a deliberate decision of the government or landowner, or due to circumstances).
1.1.0 Nature conservation
Section titled “1.1.0 Nature conservation”Nature conservation classes are determined by the classification scheme adopted for the Protected Areas Network of New Zealand (PAN-NZ).
Protected area managed mainly for science. An area of land possessing outstanding or representative ecosystems, geological or physiological features or species, which is available primarily for scientific research and/or environmental monitoring.
Protected area managed mainly for wilderness protection. A large area of unmodified or slightly modified land, retaining its natural character and influence, without permanent or significant habitation, which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural condition.
Protected area managed mainly for ecosystem conservation and recreation. A natural area of land, designated to:
a) protect the ecological integrity of one or more ecosystems for the current and future generations;
b) exclude exploitation or occupation detrimental to the purposes of designation of the area; and
c) provide a foundation for spiritual, scientific, educational, recreational and visitor opportunities, all of which must be environmentally and culturally compatible.
Protected area managed for conservation of specific natural features. An area containing one or more specific natural or cultural features that are of outstanding value because of their inherent rarity, representative or aesthetic qualities, or cultural significance.
Protected area managed mainly for conservation through management intervention. An area of land or sea subject to active intervention for management purposes to ensure the maintenance of habitats or to meet the requirements of specific species. This may include areas on private land.
Protected area managed mainly for landscape conservation and recreation. An area of land where the interaction of people and nature over time has produced a distinct character with significant aesthetic, cultural or ecological value, and often high biodiversity.
Land under forms of nature conservation protection that fall outside the scope of the CAPAD classification. This includes heritage agreements, voluntary conservation arrangements, registered property agreements, and recreation areas with primarily native cover .
1.2.0 Cultural and natural heritage
Section titled “1.2.0 Cultural and natural heritage”Conservation classes are for purposes other than biodiversity protecton.
Indigenous cultural heritage sites and areas (e.g. historical pā sites, New Zealand land wars sites, and other indigenous heritage sites).
Cultural heritage areas (e.g. historical mining sites, selected DOC ‘iconic sites’, Toru Whenua and other cultural landmarks).
Protected areas for the conservation of specific natural features and landscapes (e.g. UNESCO Global Geoparks).
1.3.0 Minimal use from relatively natural environments
Section titled “1.3.0 Minimal use from relatively natural environments”This class includes land that is subject to relatively low levels of intervention or that is largely unused in the context of prime use or use for resource protection. This land may be covered with indigenous or exotic plant species. It includes land where the structure of the native vegetation generally remains intact despite deliberate use, although the floristics of the vegetation may have changed markedly (e.g. grazing on native tussock land).
An area managed as a catchment for water supply.
An area managed as an aquifer recharge zone.
Land uses based on grazing by domestic stock on native vegetation where there has been limited or no deliberate attempt at pasture modification (e.g. native tussock grazing). Some change in species composition may have occurred.
Commercial production from retained (non-plantation) native forests and related activities on public and private land (e.g. selective native timber production without clearfelling, and other non-sawlong, non-pulpwood, native forest products including oil, wildflowers, firewood, fenceposts, and mānuka/kānuka honey).
Natural environments associated with traditional and sustainable Indigenous food-gathering practices (mahinga kai).
Natural areas allocated to field training, weapons testing, and other field defence uses, predominantly in rural areas.
Land, usually under vegetative cover, used for non-production or environmental purposes (e.g. prevention of land degradation, windbreaks, shade, shelter). Includes land with a primary purpose of flood management (e.g. stop banks, spillways).
Retained (non-planted) indigenous vegetation set aside for carbon credits.
1.4.0 Unused and transitioning land
Section titled “1.4.0 Unused and transitioning land”Land unused for rural production and urban development, without particular conservation instruments, and without any apparent built structure; or land that is transitioning towards a vacant and considerably natural state.
Degraded land (e.g. due to erosion or flood damage) that is being actively rehabilitated through planting with indigenous or exotic species to return land to a natural state.
Land that is unused or unusable for productive agriculture or urban uses, such as cliffs, rock faces, boulders, and tors, where there are relatively low levels of disturbance.