|
What is a National Park?It’s a place that’s really beautiful.
A place to enjoy now and protect for the future. |
| A national park is a large area (at least 10,000 hectares) that contains
scenery of such distinctive quality, ecological systems or natural features so beautiful,
unique, or scientifically important that their preservation is in the national interest. National parks are created for two main
reasons…
- They are meant to protect the native
plants and animals and landscapes of an area forever.
- They are places where people can
enjoy themselves - tramping, picnicking, skiing, canoeing, bird watching – but not by
changing or disturbing the environment.
National parks are also used for
environmental education and scientific research.
|
| New Zealand’s first national park was Tongariro National
Park. The mountain peaks of Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu were gifted to the state by
Ngati Tuwharetoa to be given national park status in 1887. This was 15 years after the
world’s first national park, Yellowstone, in the United States. 1887 - Tongariro – 79,598 hectares
1900 - Egmont – 33,543 hectares
1929 - Arthur’s Pass – 114,394 hectares
1942 - Abel Tasman – 22,541 hectares
1952 - Fiordland – 1,257,000 hectares
1953 - Mt Cook (Aorangi) – 70,728 hectares
1954 - Te Urewera – 212,673 hectares
1956 - Nelson Lakes – 101,753 hectares
1960 - Westland – 117,607 hectares
1964 - Mt Aspiring – 355,543 hectares
1986 - Whanganui – 74,231 hectares
1987 - Paparoa – 30,560 hectares
1996 - Kahurangi – 452,000 hectares
2001 - Rakiura (Stewart Island) - 163,000 hectares (approximately 85% of Stewart
Island)
Total area = 3,085,171 hectares
Where are these national
parks? National Park Map |
The Royal Forest and Bird
Protection Society (New Zealand's leading conservation group) was formed in 1923 and has
played a key role in the creation of every new national park since then. |
Some of New Zealand’s national parks are also World Heritage Areas...New Zealand has three World Heritage Sites:
- 1990 - Te Wahipounamu/South West New
Zealand
(In 1986 Fiordland National Park and the combined Mount Cook and Westland National Parks
were recognised as separate World Heritage areas, but these original sites joined with
Mount Aspiring National Park in 1990 to become the single World Heritage Site Te
Wahipounamu. Thanks to a Forest and Bird led campaign.)
- 1990 - Tongariro National Park
- 1998 - New Zealand Sub-Antarctic
Islands
Would you like to
know more about New Zealand’s World Heritage Sites? Go to www.doc.govt.nz/cons/land/world.htm
To learn more about
World Heritage Sites go to www.unesco.org/whc/nwhc/pages/home/pages/homepage.htm
 |
| Who looks
after New Zealand’s national parks? The Department of Conservation looks after about one third of New
Zealand's land area protected for scenic, scientific, recreational historic or cultural
reasons. This includes national parks and forest parks, reserves, river margins, some
coastline and many offshore islands. Active conservation management is undertaken
including pest, weed and predator control, eco-system restoration, and mainland island
management.
Check the DOC website to learn more
www.doc.govt.nz/cons/land/land.htm
To see a map of the parts of New
Zealand DOC looks after go to www.doc.govt.nz/cons/land/admin.htm
|
|
When you visit
national parks you can help to care for them too…
- Always make sure your rubbish goes
in the bin or home with you – please don’t litter.
- Keep pets out of national parks
- Do not remove native plants and
animals from national parks
- Do not disturb native wildlife
- If you see people damaging natural
features or harming native wildlife in a national park, let DOC know
Enjoy New
Zealand’s National Parks! |
The
National park information was written in August 2000. Updated May 2001.
Photos courtesy of
Grant Newton (Whanganui, Arthurs Pass, Aspiring, Fiordland), Carol Knutson (Tongariro,
Taranaki, Able Tasman, Nelson Lakes, Paparoa, Takahe, Stewart Island), Karli Thomas
(Kahurangi). |
|
