Significant Natural Areas

The Marlborough Significant Natural Areas Project involves the Marlborough District Council collecting information about natural ecosystems on private land, with the aim of working in partnership with landowners to help protect ecologically significant sites.

It is driven by the requirements of Section 6(c) of the Resource Management Act 1991, which states that the protection of significant indigenous vegetation and significant habitats of indigenous fauna be recognised and provided for as a matter of national importance.

The project has been underway since 2000. It involves two main types of work:

• Carrying out an ecological survey of areas on private properties to identify the sites and issues.  This work was carried out from 2000 to 2009, with the South Marlborough area covered first until 2004, followed by the North Marlborough area from 2004 to 2009.
• An assistance programme to encourage and help landowners to protect these identified sites was established in 2003.