Public and stakeholder involvement in nature conservation through conservation boards has been a distinctive feature of New Zealand’s statutory framework for conservation, put in place in 1987. Since their inception, effective boards established for the purpose of ensuring that conservation stakeholders’ voices inform conservation planning have been regarded, at least in official discourse, as a key mechanism for achieving conservation outcomes. They replaced the existing national parks boards and, like their parent body, the New Zealand Conservation Authority, were intended to focus on the entire conservation estate.

Conservation boards have a somewhat vaguely conceived role, being more than advisory but not having full governance functions, in terms of providing oversight of the Department of Conservation, which has responsibility for managing the conservation estate. The governance function/oversight/ steering of an organisation, responsibility for setting direction and long-term planning, can be contrasted with the management/function/operational responsibility and policy implementation.

Although clearly intended as a feature of the boards, which are required to recommend to the New Zealand Conservation Authority the approval of key management and strategy documents, conservation management plans and conservation management strategies – the governance function is not fully developed.