GENERAL POLICY AND GUIDELINES FOR CAVE AND KARST MANAGEMENT BY THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND THE CROWN
In the past the approach to cave and karst management by land managers has been largely ad-hoc and reactive. The purpose of these management guidelines is to provide the basis for a nationally cohesive and pro-active approach to policy development, management planning, in situ cave and karst management and monitoring in protected natural areas administered by the Department, and the Crown.
A brief description of the resource is given; scientific, cultural, and educational values of the resource are briefly described.
The general policy for cave and karst management and the classification system for karst areas and caves managed by the Department is included, along with guidelines for their implementation. The legal ownership and methodology of protection of caves and karst management techniques relating to protection and preservation and recreational use are presented.
Public safety and search and rescue are briefly at the end of each section, and it is recommended that land managers and rangers familiarise themselves with this literature.
Examples of entry permits and the New Zealand Speleological Society's "Ethical Guidelines" are appended, along with an annotated listing of caves and karst in protected natural areas.
[As the policies propounded in their paper have yet to be formally adopted by the new Department of Conservation, New Zealand, the authors felt that it was best to include an abstract only of the paper presented during the Conference - ed.]