Protected Areas
The Department of Conservation administers the majority of the publicly owned land in New Zealand that is protected for scenic, scientific, historic and cultural reasons, or set aside for recreational purposes. More than 80,000 km2 – nearly 30 percent of the nation's total area – is administered by the department.
There are 14 national parks, covering just under 25,000 km2, 20 forest parks covering some 18,000 km2, about 3,500 reserves covering around 15,000 km2, and some 610 km2 of protected private land and covenants that have been set aside for scenic, scientific or ecological reasons. The department also has responsibility for the preservation and management of wildlife, and has a role in management of the coastal marine area with 19 marine reserves and two other protected marine areas from the Kermadec Islands to Fiordland.
Read more about this topic: Protected Areas Of New Zealand
Famous quotes containing the words protected and/or areas:
“When a girl’s under 21, she’s protected by law. When she’s over 65, she’s protected by nature. Anywhere in between—she’s fair game.”
—Stanley Shapiro (1925–1990)
“If a walker is indeed an individualist there is nowhere he can’t go at dawn and not many places he can’t go at noon. But just as it demeans life to live alongside a great river you can no longer swim in or drink from, to be crowded into safer areas and hours takes much of the gloss off walking—one sport you shouldn’t have to reserve a time and a court for.”
—Edward Hoagland (b. 1932)