DOC spells out how it plans to woo business

Making money from the conservation estate could get simpler for businesses under sweeping changes designed to make it easier for them to work with the Conservation Department.

Auctions, ballots and tenders could all be used to determine which businesses get the right to set up in certain areas, as DOC gears up to accept more bids from firms wanting to work on its land.

It has just completed a review of how it allocates permits and concessions to commercial operators wanting to run their businesses on the conservation estate.

In the review document, director-general Al Morrison said the department needed to be more aware of, and responsive to, the needs of business. "Conservation is good for business, and business is good for conservation."

DOC had $54 million shaved off its four-year budget last year, and Mr Morrison told The Dominion Post this year that attracting more businesses to work on the conservation estate was a priority.

In the report, he said activities by concession holders would grow, and a Commercial Business Unit being set up within the department would work closely with those businesses. DOC would face a pressing need to find a range of ways to allocate concessions, which could include piloting tenders and auctions.

Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson said DOC looked after 8.5 million hectares of public land and needed to get better at building relationships with businesses and making the most of economic opportunities.

The concessions review was not about making money, but there were always "new opportunities out there'. "If you make the process transparent, certain and consistent, then maybe there will be more applications from commercial operators who will see opportunities."

The criteria for processing applications had not changed, and Ms Wilkinson said conservation values would still be upheld.

Businesses working on the conservation estate also contributed to conservation work, she said.

The review would streamline the processes by which operators applied to DOC to work on the estate, and make its handling of the applications more efficient.

Under the new system, concession holders would be monitored for their compliance with conditions attached to their consent, and those results made public.

Tourism Industry Association advocacy manager Geoff Ensor said the industry would welcome being monitored, as it recognised the value of protecting conservation land.

At present 4500 concession holders work on DOC land, and the department receives about 1100 applications a year. The most common types of concessions were for grazing, then guiding. Forty-three per cent are held for recreational activities.

- © Fairfax NZ News