Proceedings of the Eight Australasian Conference on Cave Tourism and Management
Paparoa National Park, Punakaiki, New Zealand, April 1989
Editor:
Kevan A. Wilde
Hosted by:
Department of Conservation
Buller District
WEST COAST REGION
ISBN 0-578-01162-8
Copyright on the papers comprising these proceedings is the property of individual authors. Apart from their fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced without written permission.
Price N$25.00
Copies of the proceedings are available from the Regional Conservator, Department of Conservation, Private Bag, Hokitika, New Zealand.
INTRODUCTION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This publication records the formal proceedings of the Eighth Australasian Conference on Cave Tourism and Management. Apart from papers, these proceedings include a record of comments and suggestions made during on-site workshops at the Ananui Caves, Paparoa National Park, and Honeycomb Hill Caves, Oparara in the Northwest Nelson Forest Park.
Department of Conservation West Coast Regional Conservator Bruce Watson opened the proceedings with the following speech:
"This is the second ACKMA conference to be held in New Zealand. It is an honour, and very fitting to have this conference in our newest national park - Paparoa, Buller District, West Coast Region, as the Paparoa National Park supports the largest most significant unmodified area of lowland karst in New Zealand. Also part of the proceedings of the conference will focus on the Oparara, Karamea (Northwest Nelson Forest Park), with particular emphasis on Honeycomb Hill Cave and its internationally significant repository of subfossil avifauna.
The karst of the Buller District, and its caves, comprises some of the largest areas of the country's unmodified karst and well over 100 known caves. Many more caves are just waiting to be discovered, indeed several new caves and two arches were discovered in the Paparoa National Park 2 to 3 weeks before this conference.
The District's karst and caves are biologically, as well as geomorphologically, very significant; they are complete and unmodified ecosystems where biological and physical processes and interactions between the surface and caves continue more or less unchanged. They therefore represent a nationally important asset to the conservation estate.
Maintaining this crucial ecological balance is not assured though by protected natural area status alone. Recreational use and tourism, if not properly managed, can create significant undesirable impacts. Tourism can, of course, also have positive benefits if managed appropriately and in an environmentally sensitive manner.
Mining and quarrying and other extractive industries can impact upon the karst and cave resource by disturbing the ecological balance, and by the transportation of pollutants and sediments through karst aquifers, to give some examples. However many of these potential impacts can be controlled and/or avoided by informed and pro-active management, resource awareness, and by constructive negotiation.
That is what the Australasian Cave and Karst Management Association biennial conferences are all about — the exchange of knowledge and information; developing informed and positive management techniques; and creating awareness amongst scientists, managers, and users of this nationally, indeed internationally, significant and vulnerable resource.
What better forum than a conference of this sort that brings together conservation officers, rangers, managers, scientists, planners, tourist operators, and recreational cavers. The West Coast Region of the Department of Conservation is about to embark on a major karst and cave management and planning strategy and we shall value greatly the inputs and outcomes of this conference. I am sure we shall learn many things and our management will be improved by this experience. I hope too that our visitors will take away new ideas; and, as I am sure they will, a favourable and enduring impression of the magnificent karst and caves of the Buller.
Welcome to you all, especially those of you who have travelled thousands of kilometres from the far flung karst corners of Australia; welcome to our New Zealand karst specialists, tourism operators, and karst enthusiasts; and welcome to my colleagues from the Department of Conservation.
TENA KOUTOU, TENA KOUTOU, TENA KOUTOU - KATOA!"
As convenor of the conference and editor of these proceedings I wish to acknowledge and thank the following persons and organisations for their support and assistance:
Graham Champness for being an excellent host and on-site organiser, Bruce Knight and other Department of Conservation staff at Punakaiki, Westport and Karamea for their input, logistics, transport and accommodation at the Punakaiki Motor Camp; the Punakaiki Tearooms for superb catering; the Barrytown Tavern for a grand conference dinner; the Punga Lodge, Karamea for accommodation; the Karamea Tavern for a memorable evening; Bruce Watson for the opening speech, Bev Sara for word processing; Marja Wilde for proof reading; and the Barrytown community for use of their hall.
I believe that the conference was made successful by the wide variety of specialists and enthusiasts that attended, and that the results of the on-site workshops will assist greatly in the future management of the Buller District karst and cave resource.
Kevan A Wilde
District Conservator
BULLER