Putting a price on precious native species
This article was originally written by our Board Chairperson Tim Pankhurst and published by The Post on 27 July 2024. See original article here.
Tūī photographed by Tim Sutton
What price a tūī? A kākā? A kiwi? Ten bucks? A hundred?
Or are they more likely priceless?
In 2016, then-prime minister Sir John Key visited Zealandia to announce a breathtaking initiative – to eliminate all rats, stoats and possums to make New Zealand predator free by 2050.
Key said 25 million native birds were killed by introduced pests every year. The cost to the economy and primary sector was put at $3.3 billion annually.
A joint venture company, Predator Free New Zealand Ltd, was set up to drive the ambitious goal and to identify large predator control programmes and attract co-investors.
A mid-goal of 2025 was set to have all introduced predators eradicated from offshore island nature reserves and suppression of predators across 1 million hectares of mainland New Zealand. While much progress has been made, that goal clearly will not be met.
And when current Conservation Minister Tama Potaka tells a select committee that saving all New Zealand’s native species at risk is ‘very aspirational’ and needs to be costed, there is understandable alarm that a government already weakening environmental controls has lost sight of the predator free 2050 vision.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has made only passing reference to the plan, praising individual contributions to ‘running the footy club, volunteering at the food bank, trapping pests’ in his State of the Nation speech in February.
Furthermore, predator funding is about to be slashed.
In a statement for this column, Potaka sought to provide reassurance.
‘The Government is committed to protecting and preserving the richness of Aotearoa’s native flora and fauna,’ he said. ‘We continue to support the aspiration to be predator free. The PF2050 programme is funded to undertake its next phase through to 2030.
‘This next phase has a focus on completing the development of the tools and technology that will enable PF2050 to be rolled out at scale, as well as understanding the return on investment.
‘For 2024/25, $18.651m has been provided for the Department of Conservation for the PF2050 programme as part of Budget 22. Of this, $5m is planned to be provided to PF2050 Ltd to maintain a focus on developing cost effective and scalable technologies, and approaches for urban and rural environments.
‘The department invests in large landscape projects, such as Predator Free South Westland, which are testing the ability to operate at scale and defend effectively in back country environments. The full investment will be outlined in the PF2050 Implementation Plan, which is due for release shortly.’
PF2050 was given a turbo boost under the Labour Government’s Jobs for Nature and Provincial Growth Fund (PGF), with 18 large landscale projects supported over nearly 800,000ha across a mix of rural and urban areas.
This investment leveraged huge support from communities, philanthropists and local government, delivering one of the highest rates of return in the conservation field. It is way beyond a ‘nice to have’.
The two most significant projects are Predator Free Wellington in the urban environment and South Westland encompassing 107,000ha of high alpine forests, rural land and the townships of Franz Josef, Ōkārito and Whataroa.
But with the Government contribution to PF2050 projects and research falling from a peak of around $25m to just $5m in new project funding, only a handful of projects are likely to continue to receive support beyond Jobs for Nature or PGF commitments. That includes Predator Free Wellington, which is seen as an exemplar of urban eradication.
The Department of Conservation’s budget is also sharply cut, the Government allocation reduced by $48m from $723m to $675m to manage one-third of the country’s total land area.
PF2050 chairperson Denise Church says the mission focus will have to be on developing approaches for faster, smarter and more cost effective delivery.
This includes further investment in new technologies and critical research, including increases in carbon sequestration in predator cleared forests.
Philanthropic organisations like the Next Foundation and the Predator Free NZ Trust, founded by Gareth Morgan, are already major contributors and more business and private support is being sought.
Holden Hohaia, a PFW board member and uri (tribal member) of Taranaki Whānui ki te Upoko o te Ika was ‘somewhat surprised’ by Tama Potaka’s approach to protecting Aotearoa’s many endangered species.
‘I would encourage the minister to think a little more broadly about our responsibilities to protect and enhance the environment’ he says.
‘The whole predator-free and Capital Kiwi initiative gives effect to the notion of tiaki whenua, tiaki taiao, tiaki tangata – care for the land, people and environment.
‘It’s a good space for the broader community to see us practising our culture.’
He says there needs to be a deeper conversation about what it means to care for the land, about what we want to bring back and how to achieve that and in what order.
That encompasses not just iconic species such as kiwi, but freshwater species, including tuna (eels) and other native fish.
Predator Free Wellington’s budget will be halved from mid-2025, from $4m to around $2m even with the commitment of donors, communities and the city and regional councils.
However, a dedicated staff and thousands of committed volunteers will ensure the drive is maintained to make Wellington the world’s only capital city where biodiversity is increasing and the dawn chorus is returning.
And a city where nature is embedded as a critical driver of living, working and visiting.
Posted: 27 July 2024