Assessor in the Executive Board

Peter Zimmer is a representative for New Zealand Land Search and Rescue Incorporated (NZLSAR).

Peter is the first member from the southern hemisphere to be elected to the ICAR board at the assembly of delegates in October 2021.

Peter has been a search and rescue volunteer with the Ruapehu Alpine Rescue Organisation since 1995. He is an alpine rescue team leader and in recent years been active as an incident management team member. 

In 2009 Peter started working for New Zealand Land Search and Rescue with the focus of his role providing search and rescue teams with training, equipment and operational support. Prior to that he was running a family business specialising in adventure tourism, outdoor education and working as a freelance outdoor instructor and guide in river, bush, and mountain environments for 18 years.

Peter was born in Germany, emigrated to New Zealand in 1992 and became a Kiwi in 2017. He has now lived longer in New Zealand than in Germany. His educational background is in farming and a degree in agricultural science. Peter lives with his family on a small farm in the centre of the North Island near the volcanic mountain range of Tongariro National Park.

Peter has experience and has served as an elected or appointed member on several outdoor, conservation and local government boards.  Through this involvement Peter has acquired excellent knowledge and understanding of governance principles.

Peter and New Zealand Land Search and Rescue highly value the free and open knowledge sharing platform that ICAR offers. Peter wants to contribute to the international search and rescue effort so that ICAR can become a truly global platform to enable all members to provide the best possible support to the lost, missing or injured.

Peter’s personal ICAR objectives while serving on the board:

• I like to contribute to the mission and leadership of ICAR. I want to provide direction and support the work of the board in a way that ICAR will become the preferred rescue practitioner global search and rescue knowledge sharing platform.
• Covid has shown us that we need to adapt and change the ways we have traditionally worked. Physical distance is less of an issue.These days we have online technology available that will allow the ICAR board to effectively govern and run the organisation in an affordable manner. Further the new technology shall be introduced to increase the reach to members and potential future members.
• An important mission will be to increase the efficiency of the work and output of ICAR. This will make an ICAR membership and the conference participation more attractive and valuable. The informal exchange and networking at the annual conference will always remain an important value, at the same time, ICAR shall strive to produce more structured information and tangible benefits for its members.
• “Above the trees we all speak the same language” is a phrase I have often heard at an ICAR congress. I believe that ICAR can also talk the same language in amongst the trees. One of the strengths of ICAR is the ability for the organisation to facilitate the identifying of operational lessons and the sharing of those lessons learnt for the benefit of the community of like-minded SAR practitioners.
• Personally, I have an established international list of contacts that I have been regularly communicating with since 2012. This was to seek advice, assist with enquiries, answer questions or host international SAR colleagues down under in New Zealand.
• I can effectively communicate in written and spoken English and German and have a good understanding of the “cultural melting pot” challenges that is reflected and present in the diverse ICAR membership.