Indigenous biodiversity
Section 8 – Accessing expertise
Some of the larger regional councils and territorial local authorities employ staff or regularly contract specialist expertise on ecological assessment, biodiversity management, planning and monitoring. This is particularly so where the council actively manages lands of biodiversity value. In these cases there can be groups or sections (eg, Auckland Regional Council, Wellington City Council) charged with managing and conserving land to enhance biodiversity.
Smaller councils will increasingly need to access appropriate expertise via mechanisms such as staffing, contracting and staff sharing between organisations.
Where councils implement biodiversity programmes requiring active ongoing communication with landowners and/or the community, it is important to ensure that there are sufficient credible personnel to undertake these tasks.
The position of a biodiversity officer is becoming increasingly popular, even in smaller councils (eg, Kaikoura District Council). This type of position is particularly likely where the council is responsible for monitoring a number of covenants and/or there are a number of sites of biodiversity value where the council is seeking to improve biodiversity outcomes.
The integrity of some plan rules can depend on appropriate ecological advice. For example, some territorial local authorities have rules that provide for landowners to receive extra development privileges in return for legally protecting an area of ecological value, or for landowners to clear an area of indigenous vegetation after proving that it is not of value. In both cases it is wise to use independent ecologists to carry out the certification. The Far North District Council requires that the ecologist used be on a council-approved list. This list is confirmed from time to time after consultation and taking into account qualifications, local experience and membership of professional bodies (rule 12.2.6.3.1).
