WORLD HERITAGE NOMINATION - IUCN SUMMARY 421 TONGARIRO NATIONAL PARK (NEW ZEALAND)

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1 WORLD HERTAGE NOMNATON - UCN SUMMARY 421 TONGARRO NATONAL PARK (NEW ZEALAND) 1 1 Summry prepred by UCN (August 1990) bsed on the originl nomintion submitted by New Zelnd nd other sources. This originl nd ll documents presented in support of this nomintion will be vilble for consulttion t the meetings of the Bureu nd the Committee. 1. LOCATON Situted in the Tongriro nd Wngnui regions on the centrl North slnd volcnic plteu. The boundry encircles the Rupehu, Nguruhoe nd Tongriro mountin mssif t n ltitude of SOO-1550m. An outlier, 3km north of the min prk re nd seprted from it by Lke Rotoir, includes Lke Rotopounmu, Mount Pihng nd Mount Kkrme. The totl re of the prk is 79,596h. 2. JURDCAL DATA Estblished on 23 September 1887 by deed of gift when Prmound Chief Te Heuheu Tukino of the Ngti Tuwhreto people presented 2,630h of the centrl volcnic re to the government. The re ws constituted s the ntion's first Ntionl Prk in 1894 nd gzetted in 1907 with n re of 25,213h. By 1922, when the Tongriro Ntionl Prk Act ws pssed, the size of the prk hd incresed to 58,680h. n 1975 the outlying Pihng Scenic Reserve (5,129h) ws dded, nd further dditions were mde in 1953 nd The current enbling legisltion is the Ntionl Prks Act, DENTFCATON The prk lies t the southern end of discontinuous 2,500km chin of volcnoes which extends north-est into the Pcific Ocen. The volcnoes in the prk, which re predominntly ndesitic in composition, fll into two group son the bsis of loction, ctivity nd size. Kkrme, Tihi nd Pihng volcnoes nd their ssocited vents, domes, cones nd crters form the northern group. These lie on 1Okm north-west to south-est xis nd hve not been ctive for some 20, ,000 yers. The ctive group extends for some 2Okm long south-west to north-est xis, with width of some 1Okm nd comprises Tongriro, Nguruhoe nd Rupehu volcnoes. The Tongriro complex consists of recent cones, crters, explosion pits, lv flows nd lkes superimposed on older volcnic fetures. n ddition to these mjor fetures, the prk contins other extinct volcnoes, lv nd glcil deposits nd vriety of springs. Extensive glcition up to 14,700 yers go eroded both Tongriro nd Rupehu nd glcil vlleys with terminl nd lterl morine formtions re present. Glciers re currently restricted to Mount Rupehu lthough ll re less thn lkm in length fter severl decdes of retret

2 Hbitts re diverse, rnging from remnnts of rin forest to nerly brren icefields. From the lowest ltitudes to 1,OOOm in the west nd north, bout 3000h of once wide spred mixed Podocrp-brodlef rin forest is present. At higher ltitudes beech forest occurs. Scrublnds cover some 9,500h. Tussock shrublnd nd tussocklnd cover extensive res in the north-west nd round the mount Rupehu mssif t bout m. The highest ltitudes in the prk re dominted by grvelfields nd stonefields. The vertebrte fun is restricted minly to birds lthough ntive mmmls re represented by short-tiled bt nd long-tiled bt. More thn 56 bird species hve been recorded in the prk including brown kiwi nd North slnd fern bird. The re hs been occupied by Moris since they first rrived from Polynesi nd ethnic mythology identifies the mountins in the prk with 'tupun' or god-like ncestors. Until the lnd ws given to the ntion in 1887 the re ws occupied by the Tu Whreto tribe. 4. STATE OF PRESERVATON/CONSERVATON The prk is vlued for its lndscpe, culturl importnce, ecologicl diversity, s breeding hbitt for number of thretened species nd for recretion. The 1990 mngement pln ws prepred by the Tongriro Ntionl Prks nd Reserves Bord nd pproved by the Ntionl Prks nd Reserves Authority. The 1980 Ntionl Prks Act provides ll protective, legl nd dministrtive mechnisms for the prk. - The prk is clssified into nturl environment, two wilderness res, two pristine res nd three menity service res. Skifield development hs been restricted nd developments re prohibited bove 1,SOOm in the Tongriro nd Nguruhoe re, nd bove 2,250m on Rupehu Sport hunting of introduced red deer, gots nd pigs is permitted under license nd progrmmes to erdicte lodgepole pine, hether nd broom re undertken. The reltive pucity of wildlife stems from the ntionwide problem of introduced species. Furthermore, ntive flor hve been reduced by exotic herbivores such s red deer nd possum. nvsive lodgepole pine thretened to convert ntive communities into forest nd hs been prticulr problem in the estern Rngipo desert re. The prk receives up to 800,000 visitors nnully, mostly during the ski seson. 5. g JUS C HERTAGE LST The Tongriro Ntionl Prk Nomintion, s presented by the Government of New Zelnd, provides the following justifiction for designtion s World Heritge property: > Nturl property (i) Erth's Evolutionry History. The prk lies t the south-western terminus of Pcific chin of volcnoes ligned long mjor tectonic plte boundry c

3 (ii> Ongoing geologicl processes. The prk's volcnoes contin complete rnge of volcnic fetures. The relted ecologicl succession of plnt communities is of specil scientific interest. (iii) Superltive nturl phenomen nd nturl beuty. The min volcnic peks re outstnding scenic fetures of the islnd. b! Culturl property Criteri for culturl property re being ssessed by COMOS

4 TONGARRO NATlONAL PARK MANAGEMENT PLAN. LOCALTY PLAN. TmGARRO UWW pmt..-f-- -/ Mt Tonriro 24'76,?. i -. 0 Orutoh.. -- ^., / -.f -, ;,.,,. r 3 3 m MAP 1 JULY 1987

5 WORLD HERTAGE NOMNATON - UCN TECHNCAL EVALUATON 421 TONGARRO NATONAL PARK (NEW ZEALAND) 1. DOCUMENTATON (i> UCN Dt Sheet (ii> Consulttions: D. Pitt, C. Burns, J.W. Cole, D. Given, R. Milne, H. Eidsvik, G. McSweeney, P.H.C. Lucs, K. O'Connor, B. Jefferies, D. Thorn, B. Houghton, New Zelnd Government Officils. (iii) Additionl literture consulted: Tongriro Ntionl Prk Mngement Pln Deprtment of Conservtion 3 Vols. (iv> Site visits: Jnury 1986, August 1987, Mrch 1990 (J. Thorsell). 2. COMPARSON WTH OTHER AREAS Within the Neozelndi Biogeogrphicl Province there re 145 protected res, including severl res which comprise the SW New Zelnd World Heritge nomintion. These re on the South islnd nd their fetures re not comprble with Tongriro which is exclusively volcnic lndscpe on the North slnd. Within New Zelnd, Tongriro stnds out s the protected re with the gretest diversity of volcnic fetures. Within the South Pcific region Tongriro is the south west terminus of the Pcific "ring of fire", series of volcnoes tht extends virtully round the Pcific Ocen. These include Fujiym in Jpn, Krktu in ndonesi, the Kermdec slnds nd Mt. St. Helens in the USA. The distinctions of Tongriro re tht it is fully protected, it is one of the most ctive, it is especilly high in scenic vlues nd it displys n exceptionlly wide rnge of volcnic fetures. Distinctions cn be mde with the World Heritge site on the islnd of Hwii which is shield volcno (rther thn one occuring t the edge of continentl plte), is much lrger in size, more continuously ctive nd the site of more ctive reserch progrmme. There re numerous other prks in the world with volcnic fetures, including Timnfy in Spin, Kilimnjro in Tnzni, Sngy in Ecudor, Ktmi in Alsk nd the Hwiin Volcnoes. There re lso ctive volcnoes worldwide including 11 in the Philippines nd 77 in ndonesi, but it is difficult to mke "vlue" comprisons mong these s ll hve certin uniqueness. Certinly Tongriro's species composition nd Mori culturl spects dd distinctive elements not found elsewhere (for instnce in the Hwiin Volcnoes)

6 Within New Zelnd's Ntionl Prk there re high stndrds of legisltion, stffing nd mngement plnning. The prk is well protected nd mnged nd enjoys high level of public support. By legisltion, the Ngti Tuwhreto tribe is gurnteed prticiption in policymking nd mngement plnning. There re serious problems with introduced plnts (exotic hether nd contort pine) nd lesser problems with introduced nimls nd control progrmmes ttempting to den-!. With these hve been cut bck due to reduced budgets. The mn-mde developments in the prk (skifields nd ttendnt fcilities) re restricted to specified re mounting to lmost 10% of Mt. Rupehu or 3% of the entire prk. The revised mngement pln ddresses the issue of ski re expnsion nd rehbilittion of other disturbed res. 4. ADDTONAL COMMENTS The prk hs importnt historicl nd culturl vlues which complement the nturl fetures lthough the ltter pper more visible nd dominnt nd the centennil of the prk in 1987 sw this reinforced with Mori ceremonil nd dediction of culturl exhibits in the prk's new visitor centre. Built in trditionl Mori style, this reflects mngement's efforts to reinforce the culturl dimensions of the prk. The evlution by COMOS on the culturl component will outline these vlues nd provide dditionl rtionle for ssessing the site. t is recognised, however, tht results of the World Heritge Committee's 1987 request for theme study on the culturl vlues of the Pcific re not yet vilble. 5. EVALUATON With its volcnic cones, lkes nd glcier, Tongriro is certinly the most spectculr volcnic site in the Southwest Pcific. ts scenic spects merit its inclusion on the World Heritge List on Criteri (iii) exceptionl nturl beuty. t lso meets criteri (ii) s n outstnding site for on-going geologicl processes. Tongriro is importnt to severl brnches of the physicl sciences (e.g. seismology, geology, geochemistry, nd pedology) s sites for teching nd reserch. t is lso importnt for botnists nd zoologists s hbitt for thretened nd rre species nd for study of the effects of invsive plnts nd nimls. The Mori culturl spects dd further to its significnce nd reinforce its nturl vlues. On volcnologicl grounds, Tongriro's cse for World Heritge sttus is bsed on three min fetures. First, it is the most frequently ctive composite volcno in the world. This ctivity llows observtion of volcnic processes in ction nd the prk is thus n idel nturl lbortory. Second, the crter lke on Rupehu is unique due to its high frequency of eruption nd its glcil setting. t is one of two crter lkes (together with Kelut in Jv) regrded s clssic cse studies of interction of mgm nd lke wter which often produce lhrs (fluid mixtures of volcnic debris nd wter). m

7 Finlly, Tongriro contins deposits from the most powerful volcnic eruption ever known t nerby Lke Tupo. The prk protects these deposits for scientific reserch on this drmtic event of 1800 yers go. During field mission to the re in August 1987 by severl members of CNPPA, strong concern ws expressed on two spects of mngement of the re tht relte to conditions of integrity: ) The extent of the ski development on Mt.--Rupehu, the current plns for expnsion, nd the impct of these developments on culturl vlues nd "imge" of the prk. This is compounded by new proposls for slope grooming nd snowmking which would hve substntil impcts on scenic vlues nd strem hydrology. t hs been suggested tht the ski fields of Tongriro would be very susceptible to effects of globl wrming which would require nd upwrd movement of skiing ctivity. b) The extent to which the culturl vlues of the prk re given prominence in the new mngement pln nd the level of involvement by the locl Mori people. n the preprtion of the new mngement pln for the prk, both these issues hve been resolved in mnner tht protects the nturl vlues of the prk nd enhnces the culturl nd spiritul vlues ssocited with the Mori people. Skifield development is constrined within specific zones which hve detiled plns nd mesures to plce limits on their expnsion nd opertion. A mngement gol to promote pprecition of culturl vlues hs been dded nd extensive discussions with the Mori Trust Bord hve resulted in pln tht better reflects their concerns nd trditions. 6. RECOMMENDATONS The new mngement pln for Tongriro dequtely covers the concerns of the Bureu expressed in The prk should now be inscribed on the World Heritge List. The Committee my wish to commend the New Zelnd uthorities for recognising the need to limit inpproprite recretionl development nd their efforts to strengthen the pprecition of the culturl vlues of Tongriro in the new mngement pln u