Balancing different forms of outdoor activities

Herenga ā Nuku Aotearoa has a legislative function to negotiate, establish, maintain and improve all types of access (Section 9 of the Walking Access Act 2008).

People who access the outdoors are diverse. Their activities include, but are not limited to:

• connecting to the whenua and ngā taonga o te taiao
• walking, tramping, dog walking and running
• hunting and fishing, gathering food, plants, medicines or resources
• bike riding, mountain biking and horse riding
• sitting, viewing, smelling and appreciating, bird watching, photography, forest bathing, praying, being alone, being with others
• motor vehicles such as 4WDs, motorbikes, quad bikes, as well as newly emerging activities and technologies such as e-bikes, SurRons
• accessing the coast, rivers, lakes and the sea for swimming, kayaking, paddle boarding or boating
• activities that require specific terrain such as canyoning, climbing or parapenting

All of these activities need, and are entitled to, public access. However, they need different types of public access and can't always interact with each other.

We are also responsible for balancing our advocacy for access with other competing values, including environmental wellbeing and the rights of other people who may be adversely affected, including other outdoor access users.

For example, motor vehicle access includes car access to beaches, 4WDs on unformed legal roads and dirt biking on forestry roads. These are all managed and responsible forms of outdoor recreation and benefit community wellbeing and connection.

However, the impact of motor vehicles on the environment and other people's enjoyment of access is significantly greater than the impact of access by other forms of transport. 4WDs can cause significant damage to the terrain they traverse and destroy habitats for indigenous or endangered plants and animals. Motor vehicles can also dominate an area with their noise and size, making outdoor access less pleasant or safe for other people accessing the area.

We use the following principles when considering what types of access are appropriate for the land.

Principles for assessing access

When we assess access, we consider and balance the following interests:

1. the identity, terrain and geography of the area, and the appropriateness of public access

   • impact to geological systems and processes such as mountains, rivers and erosion, geothermal activity
   • effects on ecological systems or indigenous flora and fauna
   • natural hazards and risks associated with the area
   • viability and safety of individual activities on the land

2. all potential users of the environment

   • landowners
   • manawhenua
   • diversity of potential users with different ages, cultures, ethnicities, genders, locations, abilities and experiences
   • impact on the different ways of experiencing the environment – passive and active recreation, spiritual and cultural, economic
   • impact on the habitats of hunting, gathering and fisheries resources of significance to customary, commercial or recreational users

3. The use of the area - past, present, future

   • effect on historic and cultural heritage
   • the economic use of the area use – farming, forestry, etc - and how outdoor activities impact that use
   • impact on sites of significance to tangata whenua.
   • existing recreational or outdoor activities, or lack of opportunity for outdoor activities.
   • how this area does connect or could connect to other recreation areas

All outdoor activities affect the land and impact all of the considerations above. Outdoor access needs to balance the value of the activity against its impact on these considerations and the wellbeing benefit from the activity.  

Multi-use access

An example of the tension over shared access is finding the balance between multi-use and single-use pathways.

As a starting point, Herenga ā Nuku advocates for multi-use pathways. These paths for cyclists, walkers, horse riders, and other active transport users help connect communities to shops, schools, recreational areas, and other local resources. They also connect people and strengthen communities. 

Multi-use paths must be well designed so that walkers, bikers, e-bikers, horse riders, and others can safely share the space. Herenga ā Nuku has a role in securing legal access for trails. We are not funded to build or maintain tracks. Trail-building groups will need to follow track design and safety standards set by the relevant agency, such as councils or the Department of Conservation. These standards ensure that walkers, bike riders, and others can share the same space.

Designing, engineering, and building paths, especially multi-use paths, impacts the land. It can affect the environment and other users of the land. We need to balance the benefits to users of a multi-use path with the wellbeing of the environment and others. 

The Outdoor Access Code also provides guidelines for how different users can share space, respect each other and care for the environment. 

When we secure new public access, we apply the principles above and attempt to include different forms of outdoor recreation access into the terms of the easement where feasible. Sometimes, this is not possible—sometimes, the terrain or circumstances will not make a multi-use pathway safe or appropriate. However, where appropriate, multi-use pathways are our preferred option.

For example, where a path has been designed for downhill mountain biking, it may not be safe or sensible for other recreation users, such as walkers or horse riders, to traverse the path in the opposite direction. In this situation, we advocate applying the access principles above to restrict access for secondary users and ensuring they are provided for in other ways. Allowing everyone access in situations like this could create conflict and danger, and likely risk ruining enjoyment for all users. 

Pathways versus freedom to roam

Many activities require a path, track, or trail to access the outdoors. For example, biking often requires designing and building a path to a standard appropriate to that particular activity.

Other activities, such as hunting, fishing, and orienteering, may require wandering freely from the path rather than following it.

Again, as a first principle, Herenga ā Nuku advocates for access that enables as many activities as possible. That means that, where possible, we support people's right to enjoy their outdoor activities off a formed path as well as on it. However, this is not always viable.

Again, when we assess whether to advocate for off-trail access, we apply the principles listed above.

Conclusion

Herenga ā Nuku balances advocacy for access with competing values such as environmental wellbeing and the rights of other outdoor access users. We also balance the needs and expectations of competing outdoor access users.

Herenga ā Nuku uses the principles listed above as criteria to assess the appropriateness of different types of access for the land. These principles list some issues we must consider but don’t tell us how to weigh competing interests. We can only do that case-by-case and only after we have identified all the considerations.   

Significant challenges and limitations exist when users with different activities want to share the same outdoor access. Outdoor access that allows diverse activities and opportunities to interact with the land is important. While individual access cases may favour one user activity over another, the entire outdoor access network across New Zealand should provide many free, certain, enduring, and practical opportunities for our diverse communities.