Environmental movement in New Zealand

Since then numerous high-profile national campaigns have contested various environmental issues including forest protection, transport decarbonisation, and coal mining.

Certainly the Save Manapouri Campaign occurred during a time of heightened international concern for the popular concept of the 'environment', but it was neither the first - nor the last - of a succession of campaigns to preserve aspects of New Zealand's natural heritage dating back to the creation of the first scenic reserves and national parks.

What was different by 1969, therefore, was the sophistication of the conservation/environmental debate, which was able to use the new international lexicon of 'environmentalism' to describe those tangible and intangible features of the Manapouri landscape, which were threatened by the power project.

[4] Other major issues have included nuclear energy, preventing native forest logging and halting the growing of GE food crops.

As of 2010 the environmental movement is active in many areas, including opposition to new large-scale hydro dams, protecting conservation land from mining and preventing overuse of water resources.