National reserves of New Zealand

Section 13 of the Reserves Act 1977 ("Governor-General may declare reserve to be national reserve") deals with national reserves. It is outlined that the governor-general can, through Order in Council (i.e. a process by which a government's decision is given effect) and made on recommendation by the minister (i.e. the Minister of Conservation, as that minister is responsible for the Department of Conservation), declare national reserves.

There are three national historic reserves:{{cite web |title=Hāpūpū/J.M. Barker Historic Reserve |url= https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/chatham-islands/places/hapupu-jm-barker-historic-reserve/ |publisher=New Zealand Department of Conservation |access-date=25 October 2023}}

• Hāpūpū / J M Barker Historic Reserve, Chatham Islands – containing Moriori tree carvings
• Puhi Kai Iti / Cook Landing Site National Historic Reserve, Kaiti, Gisborne – where Captain James Cook first landed in New Zealand in 1769
• Te Kuri a Paoa/Young Nick’s Head National Historic Reserve – made a national reserve by the Ngai Tāmanuhiri Claims Settlement Act 2012, per section 13 of the Reserves Act 1977{{cite web |title=Ngai Tāmanuhiri Claims Settlement Act 2012 |url= https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2012/0055/latest/whole.html |work=New Zealand legislation |publisher=New Zealand Government |access-date=16 October 2023}}

National nature reserves include:

• Antipodes Islands National Nature Reserve{{cite web |title=New Zealand Sub-antarctic Islands |date=1998 |url= http://world-heritage-datasheets.unep-wcmc.org/datasheet/output/site/new-zealand-sub-antarctic-islands/ |work=World Heritage Datasheet |publisher=International Union for Conservation of Nature and UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre |access-date=25 October 2023}}
• Auckland Islands National Nature Reserve
• Bounty Islands National Nature Reserve
• Campbell Islands National Nature Reserve
• Snares Islands National Nature Reserve

Other national reserves include:

• Lewis Pass National Scenic Reserve – gazetted in 1981{{cite book |title=Canterbury (Waitaha) Conservation Management Strategy 2016 |date=2016 |url= https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/about-doc/role/policies-and-plans/canterbury-cms/canterbury-cms-2016-volume-1.pdf |publisher=New Zealand Department of Conservation |page=61 |access-date=25 October 2023}}

The historic reserves are small reserves with historic value. The Lewis Pass reserve is much larger (13,737 hectares), with conservation values, including parts with scenic and ecological values. The Subantarctic Islands are collectively a UNESCO World Heritage Site.{{cite web |url= https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/877/ |title=New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands |publisher=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |accessdate=13 December 2015 |quote=the five island groups have each been identified as National Reserves, which acknowledges "values of national or international significance" (section 13 Reserves Act 1977)}}

The area known as the Waitangi National Reserve,{{cite web |url=http://www.forestandbird.org.nz/files/file/Submission%20to%20Local%20Government%20and%20Environment%20Committee.pdf |title=Submission to Local Government and Environment Committee |date=17 September 2010 |pages=7–8 |publisher=The Royal Forest & Bird Protection Society |accessdate=13 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160130231248/http://www.forestandbird.org.nz/files/file/Submission%20to%20Local%20Government%20and%20Environment%20Committee.pdf |archive-date=30 January 2016 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }} where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed, is not a national reserve, despite its name. The area has never been a national reserve (or any other kind of reserve) under the Reserves Act. It has always been administered by the Waitangi National Trust Board under the Waitangi National Trust Board Act 1932.{{cite web |url= https://www.parliament.nz/resource/0000169296 |title=Notes for Department of Conservation's Response to Local Government and Environment Select Committee in Regard to Petition 2008/93 of Quentin Duthie |date=10 March 2011 |pages=4 |publisher=Department of Conservation |accessdate=19 May 2017}}

Takapūneke is the site of an 1830 massacre adjacent to present-day Akaroa. The historical significance has not always been known and in 1960, Akaroa County built a sewage treatment plant in the area that was the core of the kāinga. In 2018, Christchurch City Council asked the Minister of Conservation to declare Takapūneke Reserve a national reserve.{{cite news |title=Takapūneke Reserve may get national status |url= https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/68883698/takapneke-reserve-may-get-national-status |accessdate=2 March 2020 |work=Stuff |date=27 May 2015}}{{cite book |ref={{sfnRef|Christchurch City Council|2018|}} |title=Takapūneke Reserve Management Plan |url= https://ccc.govt.nz/assets/Documents/The-Council/Plans-Strategies-Policies-Bylaws/Plans/Park-management-plans/Finalised-Takapuneke-Reserve-Management-Plan.PDF |publisher=Christchurch City Council |access-date=2 March 2020 |date=2018}}

• Protected areas of New Zealand

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Category:Protected areas of New Zealand