Black Day for New Zealand Biodiversity: Minister Approves State-sponsored Extinction
Published by MAC on 2006-04-12
Black Day for New Zealand Biodiversity: Minister Approves State-sponsored Extinction
12th April 2006
A series of articles highlight the cavalier attitude of New Zealand's Conservation Minister Chris Carter and the heavy-handed tactics of state coal company Solid Energy in the face of conservationists' protests over development plans that risk the extinction of New Zealand's newest species of carnivorous land snail.
Conservationists deplore snail move
12 April 2006
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3636009a7693,00.html
Forest and Bird says the conservation minister has approved the first State-sponsored species extinction in New Zealand.
West Coast Forest and Bird spokesman Dr Brian Anderson was responding to today's announcement that Solid Energy could move rare native snails at its Stockton opencast mine.
Conservation Minister Chris Carter and Associate Energy Minister Harry Duynhoven have granted a wildlife permit for Solid Energy to move a population of Powelliphanta Augustus snails from the Mt Augustus ridgeline on the West Coast.
Solid Energy must implement an intensive mitigation package to preserve the snails before it can start mining the area.
Dr Anderson said the mitigation could have worked only if the snails had been moved over a period of years, so their survival could have been tested in the new habitat.
"Chris Carter has decided not to require that. He's allowed for the relocation of up to 250 snails, but the information we have is that the new habitat can only hold 85."
The remaining snails would be below the Mt Augustus ridgeline, where Solid Energy had a concession from the Department of Conservation for rockfall.
"We're not talking about a few pebbles. Solid Energy is allowed to drop up to 270 tonnes of rock at a time on to the snail habitat."
Dr Anderson also said the minister had required predator control, but there were few predators at the site and little evidence controlling them would increase the carrying capacity of the new habitat.
"There's no guarantee the snails will survive in the new habitat at all. It's quite different from the existing habitat, even though it's quite close."
He was unsure whether Forest and Bird would seek a judicial review of the ministers' decision.
Solid Energy chief executive Don Elder said the decision was excellent news and allowed the company to meet customer orders for high quality coking coal and secure the "best possible outcome" for the threatened snails.
He said the conditions imposed by ministers were strict.
Solid Energy had engaged a number of scientific experts to support its application to move the snails.
There was strong evidence that Powelliphanta land snails had previously been moved away from their original populations, sometimes over large distances (more than 200km), wide altitudinal ranges (high to low) and into signficantly different habitats.
Most of these moves had been unauthorised but there had been at least seven known translocations of the snails within New Zealand over some years.
"Our experts have concluded that moving the snails in the Mt Augustus area by hand is both feasible and desirable for the conservation of the species," Dr Elder said.
He also said the snails had been under threat even if the mining had not gone ahead. The small population was already vulnerable because of its size, the small area of optimal habitat, other effects from development in the area and the ongoing threat of predators.
Snails face relocation for mine development
12th April 2006
A colony of snails that has been holding up a controversial coal mine development in New Zealand will be removed by hand to allow the project to go ahead.
Conservationists and coal miners have been at loggerheads over the mine's environmental impact.
New Zealand's state-owned coal miner Solid Energy has been keen to develop a deposit near Westport on the South Island, but they have been stymied by a small colony of rare powelliphanta snails and their supporters.
Conservation Minister Chris Carter has now agreed to a controversial plan to relocate the snails - all 250 of them - by hand, despite claims by the Royal Forest and Bird Society that the move could kill them.
Civic leaders and businesses say the local economy would have been hard hit if the $A330 million project was stopped because of the snails.
Carter signs off on species extinction
12th April 2006
Press Release: Save Happy Valley Campaign
http://www.savehappyvalley.org.nz/
Carter signs off on species extinction
The Save Happy Valley Coalition is appalled at Chris Carter's decision to allow Solid Energy to move almost the entire population of Powelliphanta "Augustus" snails from their home on Mt. Augustus. In doing so, he has signed a warrant for the extinction of New Zealand's newest species of carnivorous land snail.
"This is a black day for New Zealand biodiversity," said Frances Mountier, Save Happy Valley Coalition spokesperson. "Despite consistent advice from his Department that moving the snails will lead to their extinction, Chris Carter has bowed to pressure from Solid Energy and has signed off on New Zealand's first state-sponsored species extinction."
The Minister has claimed that three conservation measures give him enough certainty that the snails will survive, but scientific advice from the Department of Conservation has consistently concluded that the only way to ensure that the species does not become extinct is to leave the snails where they are. "Why is the Minister ignoring his own scientists' advice?" asked Ms Mountier.
The three conservation measures are:
-moving 250 snails to a new area
-moving snail habitat with heavy machinery
-taking snails into captivity
"Where are Solid Energy planning on putting these 250 snails, even if they can find that many?" said Ms Mountier. "We have proof that the proposed site will only hold 85 snails, which is certainly not enough to be a sustainable population. Direct transfer of habitat with heavy machinery is an unproven technique that is unlikely to succeed, and taking Powelliphanta snails into captivity has never led to a successful breeding population."
"Why hasn't the Minister required Solid Energy ensure that these measures succeed before they destroy the original population?" she added.
"Solid Energy seem to have so little regard for the environment that they are willing to drive entire species to extinction. This reinforces public concerns about the proposed mine in nearby Happy Valley."
The Save Happy Valley Coalition is a collection of groups currently occupying nearby Happy Valley, the site of a proposed open-cast coal mine which is home to 13 threatened species, including another species of Powelliphanta snail, and kiwi.
We spied on mine activists: coal firm
by TIM HUME
2nd April 2006
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3624419a11,00.html
State-owned coal company Solid Energy has admitted hiring private investigators to spy on environmental activists protesting against a proposed West Coast mine.
The Council for Civil Liberties has slammed the practice, revealed in response to an Official Information Act request from the Sunday Star-Times, as "hysterical" and "overkill".
"It's absurd and extremely worrying that a commercial enterprise owned by the government is employing KGB tactics to snoop on citizens trying to save the habitats of native snails," said president Michael Bott.
Solid Energy chief executive Don Elder said the company had a contract with Thompson and Clark Investigations Ltd, a private investigations firm specialising in providing security to the biotech industry.
He said the investigators were contracted to "provide us with advice on security matters", but refused to give further details of what methods the investigators used, or what their aims were.
The company did not hold dossiers on individual protesters.
Save Happy Valley, the protest group involved in an occupation of the proposed opencast mine site at Happy Valley, 25km northeast of Westport, said Solid Energy was acting "absolutely over the top".
It says the mine will destroy wetland which is the natural habitat of the great spotted Kiwi and protected giant snails.
"We'd hope they would operate in a more open way and stop playing their games," said the group's spokeswoman, Frances Mountier. She said suspicions were aroused when they found security staff waiting for them at sites of planned activities.
In February, protesters at Happy Valley found two men, one in camouflage and one in dark clothing, monitoring the protesters' camp from a neighbouring ridge. The men would not say who they were.
Solid Energy spokeswoman Vicki Blyth said the men were not employees of Solid Energy or their contracted security company, Gibson, but declined to say whether the men worked for Thompson and Clark "on the basis that the release of such information would unreasonably prejudice our commercial position".
Elder said using private investigators was a sensible business practice, because of the rising level of protest action against the company.
"In total, the illegal occupations, vandalism, lost revenue and wasted staff time have probably cost us up to $1 million, with potential for significant escalation if incidents continue," he said.
Since the campaign began in April 2004, protesters have delayed coal trains by chaining themselves to railway tracks, dug up a lawn and unfurled a protest banner from the roof at Solid Energy's Christchurch office, and sporadically occupied the Happy Valley site.
In January a third occupation at the mine site began. Protesters say it will continue indefinitely.
Ronnie McQuilter, president of the NZ Institute of Professional Investigators, believed the investigators would be using informants to gather information on planned protest actions.
"You would try to have someone in there, you would use moles. You would try to turn somebody that was in there, but not a member - somebody who was disenchanted or on the fringe."
Mountier said it was concerning that a mole could be leaking information on their activities, but the group placed a value on operating in an open fashion and had no plans to change. It did not know where the leaks might be occurring.
"They could be coming to meetings, they could be on the (email) planning list - but I'd hate to think any of our group are doing that."
In November, protesters accused Solid Energy of intimidation after its security guards entered their campsite at night and filmed, photographed and took personal details of protesters.
Gavin Clark, of Thompson and Clark, said he could not comment on his company's work for Solid Energy.