The New Zealand Conservation Authority faces a potential headache over workload this year, with a series of regional conservation management strategies and national park management plans needing to be considered.
The authority, which provides advice to the Department of Conservation and Minister of Conservation, regularly holds some of its meetings outside Wellington.
An "indicative workplan", tabled at yesterday's authority meeting in Dunedin, showed a series of conservation strategies and management plans needed to be received, and two approved this year.
Two related plans involving the Rakiura National Park, comprising about 85% of Stewart Island, are due to be received by the authority late this year.
The workplan suggested that next year would also be busy, with a series of strategies and plans to be considered and approved.
One authority member said yesterday every member would have to be on several subcommittees if all the work was to be done.
"It's a challenge," conservation authority chairman Don Ross said in a later interview.
Mr Ross QSM owns a small farm near Christchurch and has other business interests.
He was well aware that all 13 authority members were volunteers who were paid to attend meetings, but who also had many other commitments and their own lives to lead.
It would be "crazy" if everyone ended up spending too much time on subcommittees.
He was considering innovative approaches to deal with workload demands more effectively.
Although some had been recently appointed, the authority members had many talents, and the body also received strong administrative support from the Department of Conservation, he said.
The workload challenges partly resulted from the requirement for the authority to consider and approve a "second generation" of 10-year management strategies produced by some of the country's 14 conservation boards.
