Speaking at the Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust near Christchurch today, Minister Potaka outlined the investment, which will be drawn from the International Visitor Levy over the next three years.
The funding will support a range of conservation initiatives, including predator control, recovery of threatened species, and habitat restoration in popular visitor destinations.
The announcement reflects the government’s focus on protecting biodiversity while enhancing eco-tourism, which contributes an estimated $3.4 billion to the national economy annually.
“Conservation-related tourism is a huge part of why people come to New Zealand,” said Mr Potaka. “We’re making sure their contributions through the IVL go directly into restoring the natural places they come here to enjoy.”
Of the $22 million:
The announcement reflects the government’s focus on protecting biodiversity while enhancing eco-tourism, which contributes an estimated $3.4 billion to the national economy annually.
“Conservation-related tourism is a huge part of why people come to New Zealand,” said Mr Potaka. “We’re making sure their contributions through the IVL go directly into restoring the natural places they come here to enjoy.”
Of the $22 million:
- $11.5 million will go towards recovery programmes for highly threatened species such as the fairy tern, one of the world’s rarest seabirds.
- $4.15 million is earmarked for expanding predator control efforts in key conservation areas.
- $7 million will be used to control feral goats, whose grazing habits damage forest undergrowth and hinder native plant regeneration.
Fewer than 400 of these parakeets remain globally, and their survival is heavily threatened by invasive predators like rats and stoats.
“These birds are part of what makes New Zealand unique. They’re treasured taonga, and we want future generations to be able to hear and see them in the wild,” said Potaka.
The announcement comes as part of the government’s broader conservation strategy, which includes a $55 million annual investment under Budget 2025 funded by the newly increased $100 IVL fee for international visitors.
“Every cent raised through the levy is an investment—not just in conservation, but in the visitor experience and our economy,” Potaka added.
With nearly 75% of international visitors hiking or walking during their stay, and around half visiting national parks, the government hopes these measures will ensure New Zealand remains a world-leading destination for nature lovers.
Broadcaster Chris Lynch is an award winning journalist who also produces Christchurch news and video content for domestic and international companies. This article was originally published by Chris Lynch Media and is published here with kind permission.
8 comments:
Great for conservation. Not good for NZers wanting to experience the conservation initiative. The Māori lot will decree their ownership of the Reserves, and stop NZers from enjoying what belongs to New Zealand.
It will all come down to “ownership”. Yes, the them (minority), and us (the majority).
Time to stand up and return our country to a democratic one, where we are all equal under citizenship and law.
And so one suspects the funding to go to DOC and Māori schemes with no accountability!
Is protecting endangered species a good thing, or are we humans just meddling in the bigger natural process of evolution? Heresy I know, but I can’t help wondering. If conservation had been a thing in the days of dinosaurs tyrannosaurus rex might be thundering through the bush alongside us today. Kauri dieback would be the least of our worries. I also agree with the Anons at 5:04 and 5:39, as with many things in this country, it sure seems substantial taxpayer funding is being channelled to maori - and from there no one knows quite where it goes…
Good point about us meddling with the evolutionary process, Anon 959. After all, extinction is the natural fate of those that cannot adapt.
However, if the factors leading to extinction of a particular species are created by us in the first place, it could be compellingly argued that we have a duty to take action to negate those factors.
NZ endemic species have become extinct mainly because of competition with or predation by introduced species. There is nothing 'natural' about the arrival of cats, rats, etc, to this country. We created the problem so we should try to make amends and take steps to preserve endemic species that are threatened as a result.
Rhetorical (Rat-a-rical?) question: "Can anyone trust the motives/actions of Minister Potaka?"
Barend - The intentional introduction of predators is not what I’d call “natural”, but is the predator landscape always unchanging over time in nature? I’m thinking of migratory patterns, or disaster induced migrations, perhaps not so much on our isolated islands, but on the large continents. Due to our isolation it took a long time for predators to arrive here. (Same could be said for human arrivals. But that’s another topic entirely, though human arrivals also wiped out endemic species - and had a good go at each other too.) Meantime, the outlook for stoats, weasels, hedgehogs and cats isn’t particularly rosy. It’s not their fault, but I agree they have increased the risks to endemic species well in excess of historic environmental threats. I suspect predators of some sort were always likely to wash up on these shores at some point. Exterminating introduced predators does help our endemic species to survive, though not to adapt. Maybe the answer to my musings is that adaptation is too much to expect over such a short evolutionary time frame. NZ is still a very young country.
(For the record I have kept goldfish, mice, a guinea pig and cats, who although always inside at night, still caught a few mice and birds. I currently have two well-trained dogs and encourage birds into my garden with plantings and seed - i.e. I, myself, interfere with wild birds by feeding them and yes, I wash the feeder regularly.)
Or we could save the money, follow tikanga, and just burn the countryside down. Those that can adapt will, those that can't will be eaten.
Slow down Barend , Maori burnt millions of acres of bush and tussock lands and ate to extinction many birds . Yes the cats, stoats etc have assisted some species strggle but the Moa was not endangered by them. The Huia was long gone .
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