The fact that New Zealand is, at least by European standards, apparently both clean and green is more by accident than design, a result of its isolation and relatively short human history. And although many New Zealanders are trying to preserve the country's environment, their efforts are often hampered by a vacillating government and the paramount interests of big business - wildlife has had to pay the price for some short-sighted and flagrant profiteering.
Traditionally meat, wool and dairy products have been New Zealand's main exports, but today a greater proportion is made up of forestry, machinery, aluminium and chemicals, all of which take their toll on the environment in terms of land usage, pollution and energy demands. Today none of the animals or crops and few of the trees harvested are endemic to New Zealand: the countryside is a confusion of native, European and Australian birds, exotic and indigenous trees, and a profusion of plants and animals from each hemisphere. Since human habitation began, forty-three indigenous birds have been consigned to the ranks of the extinct, and New Zealand now accounts for eleven percent of the world's endangered bird species
Possums
During 1837-40 the first
Australian brushtail opossums
(Trichosurus vulpecula, more commonly known as
possums
) were introduced and liberated in New Zealand by private individuals and Acclimatization Societies wanting to establish...
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Land-usage
People came to New Zealand to build a new life in a green land and visitors today arrive with many romantic images in mind. With a population of only 3.6 million, you would expect human interference to be limited but the country is in fact one of the most...
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Pollution
Influenced by commerce, past governments have favoured some decidedly unfriendly environmental policies, although the recently elected Labour coalition is now trying to redress the balance. Despite a record of admirable moral stands, such as banning ships...
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Energy
New Zealand is about 70 percent energy self-sufficient, but the known reserves of gas and oil are thought to be good for only another twenty to thirty years and coal will also run out sometime in the next century. Demand for energy is currently on the...
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Preserving the environment
Much of New Zealand is utilized for farming and forestry, and land constantly swallowed up by urban sprawl, so what remains of pre-colonized New Zealand is under increased pressure.
Although not enough was done, as early as the 1880s it was...
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