Rotoroa Island: building a designed ecosystem for conservation education, training and visitor engagement

Abstract

Wildlife populations around the world are declining and becoming increasingly fragmented, and management efforts to support them have become more intensive. This means that the delineation between extensive wildlife‐management systems (e.g. in national parks or large wildlife reserves) and intensive systems (e.g. zoos and aquariums) is becoming increasingly blurred. Furthermore, attitudes about how people fit into a traditional conservation or ecosystem‐restoration framework are being challenged. In partnership with the Rotoroa Island Trust, Auckland Zoo in New Zealand is delivering a project on Rotoroa Island, which is located in the Hauraki Gulf. The aim of this project is to contribute to the conservation of wildlife, through education, training and visitor‐engagement activities. To this end, Auckland Zoo has translocated seven native species to the Island, all selected to demonstrate a range of techniques across the spectrum of intensive and extensive wildlife‐management systems. The creation of a designed ecosystem, primarily directed towards servicing education and training programmes, is unique in New Zealand. This project also aims to demonstrate an ecosystem where human intervention is integral to enabling higher levels of biodiversity in the available area than would otherwise be possible. At the time of writing the Rotoroa Wildlife Management and Translocation Plan 2013–2038 is being used to work towards the translocation of an additional 13 species to Rotoroa Island, which would expand the number of techniques and management systems that could be demonstrated to visitors.

The Rotoroa Island and Auckland Zoo partnership: Connecting heterotopic spaces

“…Rather, in order to engage visitors and demonstrate island conservation techniques, it aims to introduce and actively support more species, and in greater numbers, than would naturally occur (Fraser et al . ). The plan will see the pre‐existing species on the island (e.g.…”

“…When these sub‐populations are linked through human initiative, they can be managed as a ‘more sustainable meta‐population’ (Fraser et al . , p. 9).…”

“…As set out in the Rotoroa Wildlife Management and Translocation Plan 2013–2038 (Fraser et al . ), the goal of the partnership between Auckland Zoo and the Rotoroa Island Trust is ‘ to establish a rich diversity and abundance of New Zealand wildlife [ on the island] as part of a significant new model of innovative conservation management and environmental education ’ (p. 3). Here, the defining goals of the zoo‐as‐conservation‐centre are planted within a site, which, by virtue of maritime location and sustained pest eradication efforts, can safely ‘contain’ endangered species of birds, reptiles and invertebrates in a manner not unlike the insular and confined character of the urban zoo.…”

“…Unrestricted by any need to ‘restor[e] the fauna … to a semblance of pre‐human times’, the plan articulates four goals that guide species selection: conservation education (to introduce ‘conspicuous’ species that ‘deliver a powerful encounter experience’), conservation breeding (to reduce the probability of species extinction and to develop a new source population for future translocations), conservation training and research (to further refine specialised techniques and knowledge) and ecosystem support (to provide habitat or food for other species) (Fraser et al . , pp. 10–11).…”

“…These conversations were critical in identifying key policy documents that have guided the Zoo–Rotoroa Island Trust partnership and informed conservation efforts on the island (see Fraser et al . ; Barongi et al . ).…”