Conservation in
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
has a history associated with both
Māori and
Europeans. Both groups of people caused a loss of species and both altered their behaviour to a degree after realising their effect on indigenous flora and fauna.
Protected areas
New Zealand has
thirteen national parks,
forty four marine reserves and many other
protected areas for the
conservation of
biodiversity
Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...
. The introduction of many
invasive species
An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...
is threatening the indigenous biodiversity, since the geographical isolation of New Zealand led to the evolution of plants and animals that did not have traits to protect against predation. New Zealand has a high proportion of
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
species, so pest control is generally regarded as a high priority.
The
New Zealand Department of Conservation administers approximately 30% of New Zealand's land, along with less than 1% of the country's marine environment, for conservation and recreational purposes. It has published lists, under the
New Zealand Threat Classification System, of flora and fauna that is at risk or declining, which are included in national and regional plans.
Legislation
The
Conservation Act 1987 is New Zealand's principal legislation concerning the conservation of indigenous biodiversity. The Act established the Department of Conservation,
Fish and Game, and complements the
National Parks Act 1980 and the
Reserves Act 1977.
The
Wildlife Act 1953
Wildlife Act 1953 is an Act of Parliament in New Zealand. Under the act, the majority of native New Zealand vertebrate species are protected by law, and may not be hunted, killed, eaten or possessed. Violations may be punished with fines of up t ...
covers the protection and control of wild animals, and provides for wildlife sanctuaries, refuges and management reserves.
Conservation successes

The
black robin (''Petroica traversi'') was saved from the brink of extinction by a conservation effort led by
Don Merton of the
New Zealand Wildlife Service. However all black robins that survive today are descended from a single female, therefore the species has little genetic diversity.
The two species of saddleback had each been reduced to a small population on a single island:
Hen Island for the
North Island saddleback, and
Taukihepa / Big South Cape Island off
Stewart Island for the
South Island saddleback. After a programme of translocation to other predator-free island reserves, the population of the South Island saddleback has increased from 36 birds to over 1,200 birds on 15 islands. The North Island subspecies had increased from 500 birds to over 6,000 birds on 12 islands.
This has taken both subspecies from critically endangered on the
IUCN Red List
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...
to near threatened for the South Island saddleback and least concern for the North Island saddleback.
The
brown teal (''Anas chlorotis'') recovery program has successfully improved the population status from endangered to near threatened on the IUCN Red List.
The
North Island kōkako population has increased from a low point of around 350 pairs to over 1600 pairs in 23 populations around the North Island.
Conservation issues
Deforestation
Most of the current 11.9 million hectares of
agricultural land
Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other organism, forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous ...
had been cleared, representing around 44% of the total land area of New Zealand.
[ Initial attempts to decrease the scale of further deforestation, such as Forestry Rights Registration Act 1983 that created 'forestry rights', have been argued to only be moderately successful.][ However, they created world class structures of data collection and property rights that made way first for an amendment to the 1949 Forests Act in 1993 and later to the Climate Change Response Act 2002.][ New Zealand's patterns of ]greenhouse gas emissions
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate chan ...
are similar to Scandinavian countries, in that land use and land use change and forestry are amongst the most significant contributors.[Cox and Peskett 2010]
Commodifying carbon to reduce deforestation: lessons from New Zealand
. London: Overseas Development Institute Forestry came to be seen as main tool in meeting New Zealand's Kyoto Protocol targets.[ Accordingly, REDD programmes (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation) were implemented, whereby reforestation and deforestation was tied carbon emissions credits and traded ( ETS) and commercial carbon-sink forests were planted.][ Perhaps due to the government's initial control over REDD and the trade in carbon credits there was initially an increase in deforestation and it was not until private forestry owners gained access to the trading scheme and to ]carbon credit
Carbon offsetting is a carbon trading mechanism that enables entities to compensate for offset greenhouse gas emissions by investing in projects that reduce, avoid, or remove emissions elsewhere. When an entity invests in a carbon offsetting p ...
s that the scheme started to produce reductions in deforestation.[
]
Endangered native species
During the relatively short occupation of New Zealand by humans a large number of species have been made extinct due to predation by introduced species
An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...
, hunting, and the loss of habitat. Many extant species are under threat because of past and ongoing human activities.
One example is the Cromwell chafer beetle (''Prodontria lewisi''), which is on the IUCN Red List of critically endangered species. A reserve was created in 1983 to protect its habitat. More recent examples are the Hector's and Maui's dolphins, which are under threat from the fishing industry.
Invasive species
Wildlife smuggling
1080 pesticide
The use of 1080 ( sodium fluoroacetate) as a pesticide
Pesticides are substances that are used to control pests. They include herbicides, insecticides, nematicides, fungicides, and many others (see table). The most common of these are herbicides, which account for approximately 50% of all p ...
is a contentious issue. 1080 is used with carrots and cereal pellets to control the common brushtail possum
The common brushtail possum (''Trichosurus vulpecula'', from the Ancient Greek, Greek for "furry tailed" and the Latin for "little fox", previously in the genus ''Phalangista'') is a nocturnal, semiarboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae ...
, an introduced animal pest.
Funding
As well as government funding for conservation efforts money also comes from numerous NGOs and private individuals. The Nature Heritage Fund and the Community Conservation Fund The Community Conservation Fund is a fund made available in New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of ...
are both government funded.
Conservation organisations
Conservation organisations began to form from the 19th century. Scenery Preservation Societies formed in some of the Provinces.
An early conservation lobby group was the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand, which is now the foremost environmental organisation involved in conservation advocacy in New Zealand. In recent years numerous conservation, landcare and activist groups have formed including:
* Beech Forest Action Committee
* Dancing Star Foundation
* Endangered Species Foundation of New Zealand
* Live Ocean
* Maruia Society
* Native Forest Action
* Native Forest Action Council
* Save Happy Valley Coalition
*Trees for Survival
Conservation awards
* Loder Cup
*Wellington Conservation Awards
*The Don Merton Conservation Pioneer Award (named after Don Merton)
See also
* Acclimatisation societies in New Zealand
* Whaling in New Zealand
* Project Crimson, a conservation initiative to promote the protection of pōhutukawa and rātā
* List of extinct animals of New Zealand
* List of extinct plants of New Zealand
References
Further reading
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External links
Biodiversity New Zealand
Biodiversity and Conservation
at Landcare Research
New Zealand Plant Conservation Network
Conservation Volunteers New Zealand
Endangered Species Foundation of New Zealand
{{Biodiversity Worldwide