Summing up – What can we do? by Hugh Logan, former Director General of the New Zealand Department of Conservation
The conference is the third in a series where people passionate about sustainable management of mountain areas have gathered to discuss social, environmental and economic issues affecting mountain areas from the perspective of sustainability.
In summing up, first, what we covered; in a sense applicable internationally?
Spiritual aspects of mountain areas and what they mean for local people (in the different many ways “local people” define themselves around the world)
Biophysical change and natural hazard
Human impact and how to avoid, remedy and mitigate it
Governance and management issues
It falls to me to draw out from the discussion what I see as some themes, some things that can be taken forward in the future, and something that we may have danced around too lightly.
I want to say these are my views. Each of you will of course have your own conclusions from this conference
First – Awareness of spiritual values
I have been struck by how far many have come in recognising spiritual values of local people; what was once unspoken, ignored, or forgotten is now more common-place and openly recognised; not just in New Zealand but increasingly in other parts of the world.
Second – Managing and reducing the human footprint
Awareness that the human footprint in mountain lands has been growing. In response, education about these impacts has been having a positive effect in some places (but not all). Furthermore, behaviours of people who are educated and knowledgeable are changing for the better – but this is not universal, there is an elephant in the room which I will talk about later.
The work on sustainability and continuing to work on reducing human impacts must be carried forward. It was striking that the principle of carry in-carry out to remote parts of the globe is becoming the norm, at least for rubbish. As this conference has heard, there is a challenge in managing human waste, particularly in abiotic zones (especially glaciers and abiotic mountain zones, and where numbers of people overwhelm natural processes in biotic zones). The carry out policies implemented in some parts of the world seem to be effective but some challenges regarding carbon footprint and management of these wastes once they are carried out remain to be addressed effectively and efficiently.
Third – Awareness of biophysical change and hazards
We know so much more now about the speed that mountain lands are changing. Whereas once they were regarded as never-changing, it is now clear that they change climatically and in biophysical shape dramatically and sometimes catastrophically. One thing is certain – things will not stay the same. We have to manage for change, probably at a faster rate than we believe. This requires far greater speed and flexibility in responding to potential changes, affecting where people live, how mountain lands are accessed and where structures, buildings and activities are located.
Fourth – Mobilising the power of local communities and businesses
Local communities, volunteers, and commercial enterprise can play a significant role looking after places, changing behaviours of mountain land users, and generally helping sustain mountain lands environmentally. There can sometimes be an innate conservatism in these groups, which is both a positive thing in maintaining unique cultures and a constrain to adopting new practises where existing activities are harmful to the natural environment. Hence, the role of the environmental activist, whether inside the communities or companies, or from outside, are important. But when business and communities commit themselves to a strong environment ethic, the results are impressive
Fifth – The importance of leadership
Government agencies
Traditionally this is the role of mountain land management agencies –usually park services. This role has more recently been devalued or decried – but if you look at presentations we have seen in the conference such an attitude is very mistaken and in fact destructive. Many very important sustainability initiative are undertaken and lead by the management agencies. The risks for mountain land management agencies lie in the political expediencies and trade-offs that inevitably attach to government agencies, and in an overbearing attitude of “we know best”. But where mountain lands are being well managed it is common to find an effective government agency, either as a direct operator in their own right, or empowering others by support, education and setting high standards, while avoiding the curse of corruption.
Local people
The role of local people in leadership – the people who can bring local knowledge, wisdom and values to look after places. Risks can sometimes lie in sometime not recognising wider forces for charge or internal tensions between protecting places and the power of the dollar. In New Zealand we have distinguished between the Tangata Whenua, Maori people with rights interests and associations, and local people. Such a distinction is not necessarily the norm in other parts of the world. In New Zealand we must remember that local peoples’ knowledge and attachments to mountain lands are critically important in how those lands are managed.
Commercial enterprises
The role of commercial enterprises in setting standards for quality experiences, in educating clients and supporting environmental sustainability is very important for a small but potentially influential group of mountain users. The risk is the rush to the bottom, lowest common denominator or non-protectionism and loss of the owner – operator with their feed on the ground.
Activists
A last example of ‘leadership’ lies in activism. Erik Bradshaw spoke passionately about this to the conference. To elaborate on his words, “If no one complains or campaigns, the forces of darkness will prevail”.
What I would like to cover now is some things I feel we danced around too lightly and which would deserve more attention at future conferences.
There are three things
First: I think we have dealt too lightly with the issue of mass tourism and its effects on mountain lands. With increasing wealth in China, India and many populous countries, mountain areas, their cultures, and their communities will come under increasing pressure. China itself is experiencing this in its mountain lands in the south west, and we in New Zealand are about to experience it – we are unprepared and unwilling to take corrective action until has already had an effect. Future conference could usefully dwell on this issue and how to formulate anticipatory actions, rather than just reacting in a de facto manner
Second: The conference has focused on hiking and alpine sports recreation and tourism, but what about hunting and harvest? And what about managing invasive species? These are big issues in New Zealand. They are big issued elsewhere. But they tend to be dealt with in separate forums. If sound stewardship of mountains is our objective, then we need to think in a more integrative way.
Finally:
The issue of stewardship of mountain lands about environmental protection, economics / commerce, legal protection – enforcements – but it’s also about another feature – Equity.
The mountain lands of in New Zealand at least are common heritage of all New Zealanders. In societies where there are increasing levels of inequality (and I would argue, perhaps controversially, that this is a first world problem, not a developing world problem) that it is ignored a peril. Look at the phenomena of Brexit, or even Trump. So much of this conference has been about wealthy peoples’ issues. Even here in New Zealand, how many people can afford to come and stay in this Park, and how many families can afford the hut fees of Great Walks? I would like to see the figures but I wonder in our country and even in places like the US whether affordable domestic use of is in decline – other than at very local, minor protected places.
I would like to conclude with a proverb which I think underlines both what has drawn participants to this conference and which underlines all the themes of the conference;
“The eyes of the future are looking back at us and praying that we can see beyond our own time.” Terry Tempest Williams (with thanks to indefatigable mountain traveller Colin Monteath)
Key points for the Dept. of Conservation, from Sustainable Summits conference held at Aoraki Mount Cook 8-11 August 2016
Spiritual Values of the mountains and community connection
The importance of mountains to Iwi and the mountain users, from a spiritual perspective.
Local communities may feel alienated from their Parks as visitor numbers rise.
Visitor pressures on alpine areas
New Zealand does not have the same pressures on its high alpine areas from climbers as other places. New Zealand’s pressures are in the front country where increasingly large numbers of visitors come to see the mountains and from aircraft based sightseeing and landings.
Worth keeping an eye on whether alpine guiding will attract more users particularly lower skilled people who want an alpine experience that includes summiting prominent mountains such as Aspiring. This has the potential to put pressure on some places.
Dealing with Human waste
Human waste lasts for a long time in glacial environments. It eventually comes out somewhere and will pollute downstream waters.
Carry out policies for human waste at high use sites is about both the environmental concerns and preserving the experience for others. An opportunity exists at present to use carry out at the new Mid Tasman NZAC hut.
As use increases in alpine places and in the busy mountain front country tourist sites costs of dealing with human waste will go up. There is a need to get more innovative with how this issue is dealt with.
Climate change and associated rapid geological changes
As climate change and glacier changes happen tourism operations will want to be able to find different locations as access changes and new opportunities for different products occur.
Access to some traditional climbing places will get harder and the alpine climbing seasons timing will change so routes can still be climbed on snow.
Weeds being more likely to establish on disturbed ground post any rockfall or debris flows particularly post wide scale landslides associated with a major earthquake.
Hazards to visitors from Alpine Fault and increased rockfall activity
The likelihood of a major earthquake on the Alpine fault at 30% chance in the next 50 years is 0.6% per annum or 3% in the next 5 years. It will be very disruptive to road access and other infrastructure. It will be followed by years of increased debris flows onto alluvial flans which will create further ongoing issues.
In the event of a large earthquake on the Alpine Fault serious risks to visitors on Public Conservation Land will occur in places where cosiesmic landslides are likely to occur, such as Milford Sound, Aoraki, Fox and Franz Glacier access and large areas of the backcountry.
Mountain Huts
Climate change, rapid geological change, earthquake risks and increasing rockfall hazards are all affecting the viability and safety of a number of current hut sites, it is likely to get worse. There are fewer safe sites available now than there had been in the past.
Where sites have limited lifespans smaller relocatable huts may become a viable option.
Critical issues
How to ensure that the spiritual values of mountains to Iwi are not impacted by the actions of the Department or the visitors to the mountains?
How to ensure that local communities stay connected to the mountains?
How to ensure our planning (Management and operational) can handle the increased tourism growth in a timely manner that also preserves the values of the mountains and experiences of visitors?
How to ensure our planning (Management and operational) can handle the changes to alpine access affecting alpine climbers and tourism operators in a timely manner that also preserves the values of the mountains and experiences of visitors?
How to ensure that we understand the visitor safety issues from major earthquakes in the Southern Alps so that we can take appropriate actions both leading up to and post a major event.
How to work with guiding companies and other concessionaires so that they can be the models of the behaviours we want all visitors to do.
How to put more effort into developing best practice so we can get the longer term benefits from doing things better. (i.e things like toilets and alpine hut design)
Don Bogie
Senior Advisor
Business Assurance
16 August 2016
Some busy light and clouds lurking to the west while descending the Snow Farm Lodge road in early Sept. 2016. That’s the big “A” to the left ~ Mt Aspiring… photo by Southern Light
It’s been a privilege to both attend the conference and to compile a summation here.
It started because I’d been asked by one of the Alpine Club organisers Bob McKerrow to augment his gathering of images, and I needed somewhere to distribute about a 100 of same, so my own environmental web site seemed a good place to start what has turned out to be, for the moment at least, a-one-stop-shop.
Thanks to Ross Cullen for making the text of the programme available to me, John Cocks and Dave Bamford for checking/editing and supplying yet more content such as the summations by Don Bogie and Hugh Logan, and lastly Carla Braun-Elwert of Atara Films for sharing the podcasts
This last selection of photos below were not taken at the conference, but I gathered them from my own library to illustrate some of the topics discussed. Enjoy!
Cheers
Donald Lousley | Southern Light
DOC staff preparing human waste solids for vacuuming into 700Kg steel containers to be airlifted out ~ 4 ton of!
DOC staff loading human waste solids for vacuuming into 700Kg steel containers to be airlifted out ~ 4 ton of!
Local school camp preparing to pitch tents nearby
Preparing to assist DOC staff with toilet cleaning 2015
Increasing geological events triggered by the likes of glacier recession and climate change maybe hard to predict
One of 4 vehicles severely damaged by an unprecedented storm event in Nov 2015 in the West Matukituki Valley. This one written off
Climate change means strong winds from unexpected directions that many trees are not prepared for, and so they’re identified and made safe in “front country” areas.
If climate change brings more freak storms then the cost of maintaining access will rise
The NZ alpine parrot the kea is an endangered species. It’s important we do more scientific research on them and their changing habitat at fast as possible!
Control of invasive plant species is already a big ask of local bodies and DOC. More proactive control is needed before other species come further south accompanying warmer average temperatures
We’re probably not only holding our own in easily accessed areas in the New Zealand bush and mountains, but actually gaining the upper hand in predator control on behalf of our native birds. But not so in the “deeper” country which occupies the higher percentage of our lands – new tools are constantly being developed, and we sorely need them sooner rather than later.
The increase in visitor numbers, especially tourists from other more benign lands sadly brings a higher number of search and rescues for Land SAR, the NZ Police and DOC [to a lesser degree] to respond to. The good news though is that they’re probably in many areas not on such an increase that aligns with the numbers, and that with more people carrying personal locator beacons and technologies such as night vision for pilots, rescues are now very “slick” and professional operations. While searches continue to be very expensive still, we have to question as a nation whether or not we continue to “foot” the bill for these and rescues, and the follow-up medical care?
130 attendees took part in the Sustainable Summits Conference, organized by the New Zealand Alpine Club (NZAC) in the Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park from 7-11 August.
Hugh Logan, former Director General of the New Zealand Department of Conservation, articulated the spirit of the conference in his Summing Up-What Can We Do? presentation.”The conference is the third in a series where people passionate about sustainable management of mountain areas have gathered to discuss social, environmental and economic issues affecting mountain areas from the perspective of sustainability.
”The conference comprised discussions from a number of emanate speakers and focused its attention on many core themes
![Ed Hillary [statue] looking at Aoraki Mt Cook](https://i0.wp.com/southernlight.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/mt-cook-sir-ed.jpg?resize=750%2C500)
Spiritual aspects of mountain areas and what they mean for local people (in the different many ways “local people” define themselves around the world)
Biophysical change and natural hazard
Human impact and how to avoid, remedy and mitigate it
Governance and management issues
