The

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

s of New Zealand are protected natural areas administered by the Department of Conservation (DOC). The first national parks established in the country were all focused on mountain scenery. Since the 1980s the focus has been on developing a more diverse representation of New Zealand landscapes. The parks are all culturally significant and many also contain historic features. Tongariro National Park is one of the

World Heritage Sites World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

that are of both cultural and natural significance, while four of the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

national parks form Te Wahipounamu, another World Heritage Site. There are currently 13 national parks; a 14th, Te Urewera National Park, was disestablished in 2014. The national parks are administered by the Department of Conservation "for the benefit, use, and enjoyment of the public". They are popular tourist destinations, with three-tenths of overseas tourists visiting at least one national park during their stay in New Zealand.

Legislation

The National Parks Act of 1980 was established in order to codify the purpose, governance and selection of national parks. It begins by establishing the definition of a national park: The National Parks Act goes on to state that the public will have freedom of entry and access to the parks, though this is subject to restrictions to ensure the preservation of native plants and animals and the welfare of the parks in general. Access to specially protected areas (550 km²) constituted under the act is by permit only. Under the Act, national parks are to be maintained in their natural state as far as possible to retain their value as soil, water and forest conservation areas. Native plants and animals are to be preserved and introduced plants and animals removed if their presence interferes with the natural wildlife. Development in wilderness areas established under the act is restricted to foot tracks and huts used for wild animal control or scientific research.

Services available for public use

The National Parks Act allows the Department of Conservation to provide hostels, huts, camping grounds, ski tows and similar facilities, parking areas, roading and tracks within the parks. In addition to these, the department also provides some accommodation, transport and other services at entry points to the parks, but these are also offered by other government agencies, voluntary organisations and private firms. More comprehensive services within the parks, such as guided walks and skiing tutorials, are privately provided with concessions from the department.

2018 Supreme Court decision

In 2018, the Auckland iwi Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki won a case in the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, allowing them to apply to the Department of Conservation for exclusive rights for concessions to run commercial operations on Motutapu and Rangitoto islands. The court decision was based on giving effect to principles within the

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...

and recognition that although the islands are administered by the Department of Conservation, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki has traditional ownership (''mana whenua''). This decision had implications for the Department of Conservation management plans for the conservation estate, including the National Parks, and led to a pause in the review of the management plans for

Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park is a national park located in the Canterbury Region in the central-west of the South Island of New Zealand. It was established in October 1953 and takes its name from the highest mountain in New Zealand, Aora ...

and Westland Tai Poutini National Park.

List of national parks

This table lists the current and former national parks in alphabetical order.

Timeline

Define $dx = 25 # shift text to right side of bar Define $dy = -3 # shift text to right side of bar ImageSize = width:250 height:550 PlotArea = width: 25 height:530 left:50 bottom:10 DateFormat = yyyy Define $start = 1880 Define $now = 2024 Period = from:1880 till:2024 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:1880 PlotData= bar:Leaders color:green width:25 mark:(line,white) align:left fontsize:S from:$start till:$now from:1887 till:1887 shift:($dx,$dy) fontsize:S text: Tongariro National Park from:1900 till:1900 shift:($dx,$dy) fontsize:S text: Egmont National Park from:1929 till:1929 shift:($dx,$dy) fontsize:S text:

Arthur's Pass National Park Arthur's Pass National Park is located in the South Island of New Zealand and covers 1,185 km2 of mostly mountainous terrain. Adjacent to it lies Craigieburn Forest Park. The park is administered by the New Zealand Department of Co ...

from:1942 till:1942 shift:($dx,$dy) fontsize:S text:

Abel Tasman National Park Abel Tasman National Park is a national park at the north end of New Zealand's South Island. It covers of land between Golden Bay / Mohua and Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere, making it the smallest of National parks of New Zealand, New Zealand's ...

from:1952 till:1952 shift:($dx,-8) fontsize:S text:

Fiordland National Park Fiordland National Park is a national park in the south-west corner of South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest of the 13 National parks of New Zealand, national parks in New Zealand, with an area covering , and a major part of the Te W� ...

from:1953 till:1953 shift:($dx,$dy) fontsize:S text:

from:1955 till:1955 shift:($dx,$dy) fontsize:S text: Te Urewera National Park from:1957 till:1957 shift:($dx,$dy) fontsize:S text:

Nelson Lakes National Park Nelson Lakes National Park is in the South Island of New Zealand, at the northern end of the Southern Alps. It was created in 1956 (one of four created in the 1950s). The park contains beech forests, multiple lakes, snow-covered mountains and v ...

from:1960 till:1960 shift:($dx,$dy) fontsize:S text: Westland Tai Poutini National Park from:1964 till:1964 shift:($dx,$dy) fontsize:S text: Mount Aspring National Park from:1986 till:1986 shift:($dx,-8) fontsize:S text: Whanganui National Park from:1987 till:1987 shift:($dx,$dy) fontsize:S text: Paparoa National Park from:1996 till:1996 shift:($dx,$dy) fontsize:S text: Kahurangi National Park from:2002 till:2002 shift:($dx,$dy) fontsize:S text:

Rakiura National Park Rakiura National Park is a nature reserve park located on Stewart Island / Rakiura, New Zealand. It is the newest National parks of New Zealand, national park of New Zealand and opened in 2002. The protected area covers about 85% of the island. ...

from:2014 till:2014 shift:($dx,$dy) fontsize:S text: Te Urewera disestablished

Proposed national parks

The area centred on Waipoua Forest, north of Dargaville, has been proposed as a possible Kauri National Park. The area contains most of New Zealand's remaining

kauri ''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees, native to Australasia and Southeast Asia. It is one of three extant genera in the family Araucariaceae, alongside '' Wollemia'' and ''Araucaria'' (being ...

, including the largest known kauri,

Tāne Mahuta Tāne Mahuta, also called "God of the Forest", is a giant Agathis australis, kauri tree (''Agathis australis'') in the Waipoua Forest of Northland Region, New Zealand. Its age is unknown but is estimated to be between 1,250 and 2,500 years. It ...

. These stands of kauri are also valuable as havens for endangered species including the North Island brown kiwi. This proposal is currently being investigated by the Department of Conservation. In response to a DoC proposal to upgrade the protection of

Great Barrier Island Great Barrier Island () lies in the outer Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand, north-east of central Auckland. With an area of it is the sixth-largest List of islands of New Zealand, island of New Zealand. Its highest point, Mount Hobson, Great Barrier ...

(Aotea),

Forest and Bird Forest & Bird (), also known by its formal name as the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand, is an environmental organisation specialising in the protection and conservation biology, conservation of New Zealand's indigenous F ...

launched a campaign in 2014 to designate it as a National Park. In 2020, the New Zealand National Party announced that they would create two new national parks if elected at the general election, namely Coromandel National Park and Catlins National Park.

Mining concerns

In 2010 the New Zealand Government proposed removing some national park and conservation areas from Schedule 4 protection of the Crown Minerals Act which prohibits mining in those areas. In July the government abandoned the proposal after receiving a large number of submissions, most of which opposed mining.

References

External links

National Park information
at the Department of Conservation
Kauri National Park proposal
at the Department of Conservation
– 'National parks'
in '' Te Ara, The Encyclopedia of New Zealand'' (last updated 2015-08-15; accessed 2017-08-23). {{authority control

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

National parks A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...