Political reality means the Government won't act to protect oceans
Wednesday, 3 November 2021
OPINION: In the Oceans episode of Stuff’s documentary series This Is How It Ends, Minister of Conservation Kiritapu Allan says:
“I think that when we have done our job and socialised just how critical our biodiversity loss is both in the ocean and on land, I’m confident we’ll get the social licence we need to be able to take some measures that really require significant lifestyle changes.
“Are we at that point yet? Probably not, to be frank.
“I think there is a lot of work to do in terms of getting people to really understand the nature of the crisis.”
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Allan was responding to questions about the threats to Aotearoa New Zealand’s marine species and the actions needed to protect them from extinction.
Actions like pursuing fishing best practice to prevent by-catch of our endemic seabirds, currently in free-fall to extinction, or monitoring the effectiveness of mitigation devices designed to protect one of the rarest sea lion species in the world. Or pursuing every option available to us to prevent the loss of the last 54 Māui dolphins on the planet. The state of each of those species, and many more, is in crisis. Right now.
The suggestion that in 2021 the Government of New Zealand does not yet have the ‘social licence’ to take the measures needed to protect our biodiversity stopped me in my tracks.
What about the numerous international treaties and agreements and undertakings that New Zealand has signed that commit the Government to doing everything it can to protect and preserve our endangered marine species?
Or closer to home, the national strategies and policies and legislation successive governments have drafted and adopted?
Which constituency is it that the minister thinks the Government is yet to convince of the critical state of biodiversity loss in New Zealand, and why is the view of that constituency so influential that it can hold up the kind of ocean policy, regulations and investments so urgently needed to secure the future health of our marine environment?
I’m guessing that it’s not the nine out of 10 New Zealanders who in WWF NZ polling indicated they want at least a third of New Zealand’s marine environment protected.
It is also not the two-thirds of New Zealanders who in 2017 backed the extension of the proposed Marine Protected Areas legislation to include the entire exclusive economic zone , or the 93 per cent who still supported the creation of the Kermadec Rangitāhua Ocean Sanctuary, despite the sustained opposition of commercial fishing quota holders.
It is also unlikely to be any of the 50,000 who signed the 2020 petition to ban bottom trawling, or the equally significant numbers opposed to deep-sea mining.
So who is it that the minister thinks the Government needs to convince of the severity of the biodiversity crisis before it is willing to act?
Or before it can regulate activity, invest in science, pursue meaningful protection, or monitor the effectiveness of mitigation measures across our marine space?
Where is social licence needed before the Government acts to ensure we meet international commitments and undertakings?
For decades, mana whenua, government agencies, independent bodies, scientists, NGOs and communities have raised awareness about biodiversity loss .
They took action too, from the recent laying of a rāhui around Waiheke Island by Ngāti Pāoa, to legal battles fought and won to stop seabed mining off the Taranaki coast, to decades of research funded by NGOs.
It is almost 40 years since New Zealand signed the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, an agreement that left New Zealand guardian of more than 4 million square kilometres of ocean.
Today, less than 1 per cent of New Zealand’s marine environment is protected, 90 per cent of the seabirds who call it home are at risk of extinction, and taonga like the Māui dolphin and Antipodean albatross are on the brink of disappearing.
While Allan says she will experience consternation if any species go extinct on this Government’s watch,the political reality appears to be that without the support of doubters, the Government will not act.
Sadly, this isn’t something new. Since New Zealand signed UNCLOS in 1982, no New Zealand government has lived up to the commitment it requires to “preserve and protect” our negotiated marine territory.
For years, government and science reporting has provided examples of a crisis that is real and rampant. This month, Stuff series This Is How It Ends is shining a spotlight on that reality.
For as long as the Government is more concerned about seeking “social licence” over actually doing something to prevent critical marine biodiversity loss, we will continue to lose habitats and species.
Alternatively, if our Government was to start acting with urgency and ambition tomorrow, informed by science and advised and led by mana whenua, conservation entities and communities, then future generations could still have a chance to inherit a healthy and productive marine environment.
– Bronwen Golder is a Fellow of Stanford University’s Centre for Ocean Solutions, and between 2010 and 2018 was director of the Kermadec Rangitāhua Ocean Sanctuary campaign.