WWF Shining a spotlight on the biodiversity of ... - MarineNZ.org.nz

1.2 Scope of this report and relation to
other information initiatives in
New Zealand
This report outlines the scope of the
ecoregion project and relation to other
information initiatives in New Zealand,
explains the methodology and criteria
employed by workshop participants to
identify key marine biodiversity sites and
features, presents the participants’ selected
areas and their attributes, identifies gaps in
marine biodiversity knowledge, and explores
future steps for conserving New Zealand’s
marine biodiversity.
The contents of this report reflect
information generated by a group of marine
scientists during a two-day workshop. The
outcomes of the workshop are meant to
serve as a summary of marine biodiversity
in New Zealand and an indication of
those areas and features, such as habitats,
species concentrations and assemblages,
and unique ecological phenomena, that
marine experts recognise as having special
physical and biological attributes. Due to the
large spatial scale at which the assessment
was conducted, this report is not intended
to be a directory to the specific locations
of marine species or assemblages in New
Zealand waters. References to more detailed
information are provided where available
for the key areas identified by workshop
participants.
Expert workshops led by <strong>WWF</strong> in other
ecoregions of the world have included
an assessment of threats posed to
biodiversity through human activities. In
the New Zealand exercise threats to marine
biodiversity were not formally assessed,
nor were threats used as a major criterion
for determining the key areas for marine
biodiversity. A subsequent process will
identify threats to New Zealand’s marine
biodiversity. Threat identification is likely
to draw upon the outputs of the marine
scientists’ workshop, but is a process that
will involve a wider group of stakeholders
with interests in the marine environment.
The marine ecoregion project initiated by
<strong>WWF</strong>-New Zealand complements other
spatially based information initiatives
underway to aid understanding of New
Zealand’s marine environment. Other
projects operating in New Zealand
include the National Aquatic Biodiversity
Information System (NABIS), The Marine
Environment Classification System (MEC),
the Interim Nearshore Environment
Classification System (INMARC), and
the Estuary Environment Classification
(EEC). Lack of knowledge about the marine
environment is a major impediment to
effective management. Importantly, this
collection of initiatives has potential to
bridge those information gaps with the help
of geographic information systems (GIS).
A description of the projects is included in
Appendix 2.
1.3 <strong>WWF</strong> and the ecoregion approach
to conservation
<strong>WWF</strong>’s mission is to stop degradation of the
planet’s natural environment and to build a
future in which humans live in harmony with
nature, by conserving biological diversity,
ensuring the sustainable use of resources,
and reducing pollution and wasteful
consumption. Scientists and conservationists
worldwide have acknowledged that
attainment of conservation goals requires
thinking, planning, and acting at the
appropriate spatial and temporal scales
(IUCN, WRI, and <strong>WWF</strong> 1999). Adoption
of the ecoregion as the spatial unit that best
describes the patterns of biodiversity reflects
increasing recognition of the need to expand
the scale at which we address biodiversity
conservation.
An ecoregion is “a large unit of land or
water that contains a characteristic set of
natural communities that share a large
majority of their species, dynamics, and
environmental conditions” (Olson et
al. 2000: 2). Through identification of
238 terrestrial, freshwater, and marine
ecoregions as priorities for conservation
action, collectively known as the Global
200, <strong>WWF</strong> has taken a more comprehensive
and representative conservation approach
than has ever been attempted on a global
scale. The ecoregions of the Global 200
6 ■ BIODIVERSITY – NEW ZEALAND’S MARINE ECOREGION