Managed to be Wild: Species Recovery, Island Restoration, and Nature-Based Tourism in New Zealand

Abstract

New Zealand and its sub-Antarctic dependencies had an abundance of birdlife, endemic flora, and invertebrates but no terrestrial mammals before the arrival of Homo sapiens. Subsequent mammalian imports have severely adversely affected the endemic and native fauna and flora. In response to the impossibility of nationwide mammalian predator eradication, endangered species are transferred to relatively safe environments: either offshore islands or "mainland islands." Individuals of species at risk in their traditional environments can be transferred to one or more of these islands. New Zealand has pioneered this form of restoration program and substantial nature-based tourism occurs in these settings. Traditional binaries such as captive/free and captivity/wild are problematic because these descriptors do not capture the nature and range of the possible environments and experiences provided by "islands." It is proposed that a more useful descriptive and analytic framework involves focusing on the matrix of power relationships that exist between native and endemic fauna and flora, introduced fauna and flora, and groups of humans. Furthermore, it is argued that such a focus usefully reformulates longstanding controversies within conservation, highlights the utility of a restoration narrative, and promotes the development of sustainable nature-based tourism.