Return of wildlife draws international plaudits
This article was originally written by our Board Chairperson Tim Pankhurst and published by The Post on 6 July 2024. See original article here.
Wellington’s predator free movement is an economic driver for a city badly in need of a boost.
Kākā are prevalent at Zealandia and seen more and more around suburban Wellington
Predator Free Wellington offers much more than eradicating introduced predators and bringing back birdlife, according to Myfanwy Hill, Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) manager, environment operations.
“It is an important environmental and ecological project but it is also part of what brings people to Wellington,” she says. “It attracts high value tourists and a wider range of talent for businesses. It brings a cutting edge.”
She points to Xero founder Rod Drury, also patron of Trails Wellington that promotes mountain biking, saying the place that was once “the coolest little capital” is searching for its new identity in a rapidly changing world.
Attracting and retaining talent sits with a work/life balance where nature is intrinsic to urban life.
Hill says the return of native birdlife is now embedded in Wellington’s sense of place.
“One thing I have seen is that it gives hope. It is an expectation that the country has now. Twenty years ago if you saw a tūī in the city it was something to be remarked on. We are now seeing kiwi on South Karori Rd and flocks of kākā overhead. To young people that is natural.”
She says the result on Miramar Peninsula where rats, stoats and weasels have been eradicated is proof of concept.
“We were rubbished by a lot of people when we first said our aim was to make the Miramar Peninsula predator free. It is still hard and difficult to advance that but I don’t hear too many people anymore saying it’s impossible.”
Under its regional predator control programme, which focuses on better landscape outcomes, GWRC is currently targeting possum control in the Makara and Ohariu area and also has a longer term focus of eradicating ungulates – deer, goats and pigs – in the Wainuiomata catchment.
The PFW vision is to remove all rats, stoats, weasels and possums over 30,000 hectares across Wellington through to Porirua by 2030.
“2030 is scarily close but I’m an eternal optimist,” Hill, previously Wellington City Council’s open spaces and parks manager, says. “If we haven’t achieved it by then we will certainly be able to see the finish line.”
She says there is a huge amount of innovation under way and a constant refinement of technique that is making pest eradication more cost effective. Greater Wellington, Wellington City Council, the NEXT Foundation, Predator Free 2050 and Taranaki Whanui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika (Port Nicholson Block Settlement) Trust are the foundation partners in PFW.
The ambitious programme is attracting international attention.
On December 5, 2023 the kiwi programme made the front page of the New York Times alongside war in Ukraine and Israeli military action in south Gaza. It headlined: After Decades of Decline, a Feathered Icon Breeds in New Zealand’s Capital.
The Times told its millions of readers that an estimated peak population of 12 million kiwi across five species had fallen to about 70,000, mostly confined to remote parks and offshore islands. It likened the Makara locality, where kiwi are now breeding, as comparable in size to the New York boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn combined.
Numerous responses from readers included “Up from Western Australia” who wrote: “New Zealand should be a model for the world of preserving indigenous animals and eliminating invasive species that hinder their survival. Hats off to NZ.”
“Hurrah,” said Louise Cavanaugh from the American Midwest. “Good news is a precious thing these days.”
“Wonderful – all is not lost,” said Bill White from Ithaca in New York. “We can undo some of the unintentional damage our forefathers have done to the planet.”
John from London delivered a reality check.
“NZ’s anti-genetically modified organism (GMO) legislation closes off promising lines of research in reaching the 2050 goal,” he said. “Kiwis are renowned for their ingenuity. Perhaps some new ideas will emerge to eradicate problem pests because trapping and poisoning are insufficient to complete the task.”
Leonardo DiCaprio threw his star power behind New Zealand’s conservation effort when he told his 62 million followers “as the wildlife disappears from most cities around the world, New Zealand’s capital has been transformed by efforts to welcome native birds into its urban backyard”.
Wellington’s predator free movement has also attracted the attention of the Wall Street Journal, which has published a feature.
The BBC, ABC, Al Jazeera, Bloomberg and MSN have also covered the return of the dawn chorus to Wellington.
In April The Guardian reported on the halo effect of the Zealandia sanctuary.
It added that a sanctuary alone is not enough to bring back a city’s birds. “Part of the success of Wellington’s biodiversity boom has been widespread community work to create a safe environment for birds – and a deadly one for invasive predators.”
As Myfanwy Hill says, Predator Free Wellington, in partnership with Capital Kiwi and Zealandia, has valuable lessons not only for the rest of the country, but also for overseas cities concerned about biodiversity loss.
Global media are seizing on a good news story that resonates with readers. The opportunity is there for the Capital to capitalise on that interest.
Posted: 6 July 2024