July 29, 1999
By Dr. Bas Walker, Chief Executive, ERMA New Zealand
The aliens that are taking over the New Zealand landscape in the 1990s do not hail from a galaxy far, far away – they are the pests and weeds choking the life out of our native species and costing us countless millions a year to control.
Few corners of New Zealand are left unscathed in these pest wars. Down on the shoreline, rats attack seabirds and their young; beneath the forest canopy, an army of 70 million possums munches through about 20,000 tonnes of leaves nightly; up on the mountaintops, thar and chamois wreck the alpine vegetation.
A year ago today a law was passed to help turn the alien tide. Strict controls are now in place on what sorts of plants and animals people can bring into New Zealand. This met an urgent need to plug gaps in a system that over many years let in a host of alien ‘new organisms'. The original reasons for bringing in new animals varied from creating sporting opportunities to homesickness for familiar species.
Alien pests don't only threaten native ecosystems; they devastate agricultural production and pass on such diseases as bovine Tb. Animals like possums, deer, rabbits and stoats are among the most notorious offenders. But a huge number of introduced birds are also inflicting millions of dollars of damage to cropping and horticulture.
The annual cost of exterminating vertebrate pests could fund a string of big budget Hollywood films. Possums have been estimated at causing as much damage as $60 million dollars annually; estimated losses due to rabbits top $130 million a year. We know that in Hawke's Bay alone, birds are damaging the grape harvest to the tune of a million dollars a year.
The dispatches from the pest war aren't all bad. In the past five years, the incidence of bovine Tb in cattle and deer herds has dropped by as much as a half. Endangered native birds like the kokako are bouncing back thanks to careful management by DoC and others. But our common struggle against the aliens is far from over.
To help screen exactly what is coming into the country, the government passed the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act. Known as HSNO, it came into effect on 29 July last year and covers any new species of plant or animal coming into New Zealand for the first time.
So if you want to import a new species into New Zealand, you now need approval from the Environmental Risk Management Authority, known as ERMA New Zealand.
The Authority is an independent agency set up by the Government to make decisions on what can come in – and what stays out. It has been in the headlines recently over the separate issue of organisms of the "genetically modified" kind. But we also deal with non-GM plants and animals.
New Zealand now has a comprehensive regime in place to assess the impact of all ‘new organisms' before they are introduced. The role of the Authority is to decide if they represent a threat to the environment, or to public health and safety. The emphasis is on assessing the risks of introduction – and then weighing up the costs and benefits to the environment, the economy and society.
Under the HSNO Act, a ‘new organism' is a new species coming into New Zealand for the first time, such as an exotic zoo animal. It could also be an animal or plant developed in New Zealand through genetic engineering. The Act also puts an outright ban on such hostile aliens as snakes, venomous reptiles and cane toads.
In practice, the new law means that no one can import, develop, field test or release a new organism without the approval of the Authority. Any organism that was already legally present in New Zealand when the Act began a year ago will not need approval.
But anyone who wants to bring in a new animal will. This could include anything from crocodiles, emus, circus animals, birds, fish for marine farming, through to insects for biological control.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) has compiled an index of animals and plants already in New Zealand or which have previously been assessed for import. Quarantine staff at the border use this as a checklist. If a species isn't covered, MAF will ask the importer to obtain HSNO and Biosecurity Act approval or verify that it is not a ‘new' organism.
Obviously the new regime does take time and money. But our bitter experience in the New Zealand pest wars should teach us that if we fail to manage new organisms effectively, the country faces far greater costs in the long term.
The first thing to do is check with ERMA New Zealand staff if what you want to do is covered by the Act – and if so, make a formal application. Applicants will need to show the likely impacts of their proposal and explain why the benefits might outweigh the costs and risks. Many applications will be straightforward and will be processed quickly, within the timeframe set down by the Act.
We are doing everything we can to avoid bureaucratic hold-ups with the application process. Our aim is to assess the risks and to focus only on those things that have potentially significant effects. For many importers, there will be minimal risks to consider and the process will be quite simple.
However, for those proposals that pose a potential threat to the environment, there is now a public process to go through and this will mean providing information and talking it through. It is in the interest of all of us to effectively evaluate new species before letting any more aliens loose in the New Zealand environment.
For further information
| Dr. Bas Walker Chief Executive ERMA New Zealand Ph. 04 473 8426 |
Karen Cronin Communications Manager ERMA New Zealand Ph. 04 496 4826 or 04 918 4826 |