Stewardship areas of New Zealand

This article is about the legal concept in New Zealand. For the generic concept, see Land stewardship.

Stewardship land is a type of public conservation land in New Zealand that is stuck in a limbo state, after being transferred to the Department of Conservation (DOC) but not yet allocated a formal protection category.

Like other types of conservation land, stewardship land is administered by DOC under the Conservation Act 1987.[1]

Extent and Origin

As of November 2025, 30% of conservation land in New Zealand is classified as a stewardship area, which amounts to over 2.7 million hectares (6,700,000 acres) of land.[1] This includes:

Disposal

Stewardship areas can be disposed of if they are deemed to have "low or no conservation value".[4][1] This process was invoked in 2011, where 200 hectares (490 acres)[5] of land was privatised for construction of a skifield.[4][6]

There are ongoing proposals for the construction of skifields and coal mines on conservation land, which would require those stewardship areas to be disposed of and privatised.[7]

Timeline

In 2021, the Sixth Labour Government established a programme to reclassify stewardship areas,[1] following a promise to ban new mines on conservation land.[4]

In 2022, public consultation was held for the first tranche of land, on the West Coast of the South Island.[8] A panel of experts recommended that 54% of West Coast stewardship land should be converted to conservation parks, 28% to historic reserves, 12% to national parks, and the remaining 6% to other classifications.[8] Only 66 hectares (0.01%) was proposed to be disposed of.

As of 2025, there has been no further progress, following a change of government.[9] Instead, there is renewed interest to allow mining on conservation land,[10][11] and allow up to 60% of all conservation land to be delisted.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Stewardship land reclassification". Department of Conservation – Te Papa Atawhai. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  2. ^ Ensor, Jamie (15 February 2019). "Controversial tenure review leaves devastating legacy for South Island environment - researchers". Newshub. Stuff New Zealand. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d "STEWARDSHIP LAND – A Note for the Prime Minister" (PDF). Environmental Defence Society. February 2025. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  4. ^ a b c "Stewardship land explainer". Forest & Bird – Te Reo o Te Taiao. 19 June 2025. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  5. ^ "DoC accused of putting business first". Radio New Zealand. 24 March 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  6. ^ Williams, David (13 March 2022). "Russians remain in Canterbury ski venture". Newsroom. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  7. ^ "Aotearoa's stewardship land — Too precious to lose". Federated Mountain Clubs of New Zealand. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Public feedback sought on proposed land classifications for the West Coast". Office of the Minister of Conservation. Department of Conservation – Te Papa Atawhai. 27 May 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  9. ^ RNZ, First Up (31 January 2025). "Stewardship land as important to preserve as DOC land - Forest and Bird". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  10. ^ Ensor, Jamie (13 December 2023). "Shane Jones gone 'full Trump', declared 'war on nature' with mining comments, conservation group says". Stuff New Zealand. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  11. ^ "Stewardship land is public conservation land and needs to be protected". No. 28 January 2025. Forest and Bird – Te Reo o Te Taiao. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  12. ^ Dinica, Valentina (13 October 2025). "Reform of NZ's protected lands is overdue – but the public should decide about economic activities". The Conversation. The Conversation. doi:10.64628/AA.7jq9je3m5. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
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