The government's focus on planting pine trees to solve climate change will only push costs onto remote communities and avoid solving the real problem: fossil fuels, campaigners say.
J Swap, a company involved in quarrying, wants land protected under QEII covenants to be available to quarry. It donated $11,000 to NZ First in December, after the coalition was formed. It also gave $5000 to NZ First's Shane Jones in August 2023 and $3000 to National's David MacLeod in September 2023. The proposed Fast Track legislation is touted as a "one-stop shop" for approving infrastructure projects. It would sit over a range of existing acts and regulations and would mean an application would only need to go through one process for approval instead of several consents under the existing system. Audio below, read the full investigation here.
Greenpeace has written to Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand over its concerns about nitrate in Canterbury's drinking water. The organisation said it tested 445 water samples in North Canterbury this past weekend and the results indicated town supplies in Darfield, Kirwee and Oxford had nitrate levels above the 5mg/L threshold. Spokesperson Amanda Larsson said that was the level which could increase the risk of pre-term birth. "The highest readings we see are often from private bores in rural areas. It's less common to see such high readings in the public town supply. For comparison, about 80 percent of New Zealand's drinking water is below 1mg/L so 5 mg/L in the town supply is high," she said. Larsson said the main source of nitrate contamination of the groundwater was fertiliser application and dairy cow urine. "North Canterbury has one of the highest stocking rates in the country so that's why we're seeing high nitrate in the groundwater, and the groundwater is what's being used for public drinking supplies in these areas," she said. Canterbury Regional Council said drinking water supplied by city and district councils throughout Canterbury was generally safe and councils monitored the quality of the water to make sure it was safe from pathogens, nitrate and other contaminants. It said it had long recognised there were high nitrate concentrations in groundwater in the region, and was continuing to work closely with other agencies and landowners on this. The regional council's website said it was addressing the cause by imposing strict regulations on farming practices and nitrogen loss to water, by setting nitrogen leaching limits on individual farms, rather than limiting the number of cows. Larsson said Greenpeace had written to Health New Zealand to draw the agency's attention to this as a "serious public health issue". "Our expectation is that they would investigate and then ultimately back calls to lower the drinking water standard to the safe limit which is 1mg/L," she said. New Zealand's current drinking water standard for nitrate was set at 11.3mg/L, Larsson said. Health New Zealand national public health service medical officer Dr Cheryl Brunton said the agency had received Greenpeace's letter. "Taumata Arowai is the organisation responsible for ensuring all communities have access to safe and reliable drinking water. The Ministry of Health remains responsible for the drinking-water policy and they engage with public health professionals and authorities to formulate policy for achieving safe drinking-water supplies and effective sanitation in New Zealand," she said. Brunton said all agencies continued to work together to make sure New Zealanders had access to safe drinking water. The Ministry of Health directed queries to Taumata Arowai. Taumata Arowai has been contacted for comment.
Work in Southland to target wilding pines has taken a hit on the back of reduced funding from the government. The issue was highlighted in a recent Environment Southland chief executive report which said the Ministry for Primary Industries had reduced its budget for this year's control programme. It was unlikely the programme would receive enough to maintain gains made in previous years, it said. Environment Southland biosecurity and biodiversity operations manager Ali Meade said wilding pine work had been ongoing since at least the 1990s, undertaken by both agencies and private landowners. "Wilding pines overwhelm our landscapes, killing native plants and forcing out native animals," Meade said. "This is done by growing densely, using up the sun, water and nutrients other plants need to survive." Pine seeds could spread up to 40 kilometres in the wind meaning they could increase rapidly across a wide area, she said. "Without adequate funding, wilding pine control work will go backwards, with cleared land prime for re-infestation and also further expansion across the region." In Southland, control sites include the Eyre and Takitimu Mountains where private work has been undertaken, and Mid Dome where a trust has coordinated work since 2006. The Environment Southland report also warned a new species of wilding pine had recently been found in the region - Larch. Meade said Larch caused issues across many parts of the country, and tended to be an amenity or woodlot planting in Southland. None had been reported in the region until 23 December 2023, but biosecurity staff had since found three sites, she said. "The risk is similar to our other wilding species like Pinus contorta and douglas fir as it has a light seed that can travel a long distance." The first site, in the Te Anau basin, had been addressed. Environment Southland was now working with landowners at another two sites to remove seedlings. Biosecurity New Zealand director of readiness and response John Walsh said the National Wilding Conifer Control Programme had received an increase in government funding from 2020 due to a "time-bound" $100 million allocation. The "front loaded" funding was tapered down to $10 million a year for 2023/24 and beyond, he said. "This is the first time the programme has had consistent baseline funding." Since 2016, the government had invested $140 million into wilding control, supported by around $30 million from partners and land owners. The programme has made significant progress in some of the worst infestations - including at Mid Dome - working alongside Environment Southland and Mid Dome Trust, Walsh said. The National Wilding Conifer Control Programme had contributed around $12.5 million in control work funding in Southland since 2016, he said. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
A seagrass still found in the Marlborough Sounds is in global decline and many don't know of its importance, a coastal scientist says. Marlborough District Council coastal scientist Jorgia McMillan said while undertaking an estuary science programme the coastal team had spoken to quite a few landowners who did not know what seagrass was and why it was important. "Around the world there is around 50 to 60 species of seagrass, but here in New Zealand we only have one, called Zostera muelleri," McMillan told the council's environment and planning committee last week. "Some people might think it's an algae, or a seaweed, but it's actually a marine flowering plant, which creates these underground river networks that enables it to form these large beds. "Seagrass is intertidal and a subtidal species, however, New Zealand and the rest of the world have seen huge declines in the subtidal seagrass beds." The Marlborough Sounds was one of the final places in New Zealand where subtidal seagrass could be seen. McMillan said seagrass found in the Marlborough Sounds was a really positive indicator of a healthy estuary, and showed biodiversity hotspots and beds acted as an effective carbon sink. "It provides nursery habitats for a number of species such as crabs, snails, worms and a range of juvenile fish. "But unfortunately it is one of the first species to be impacted by climate change." She said research had shown that seagrass captured carbon at a rate 35 times faster than tropical rainforest, and accounted for 10 percent of the ocean's carbon burial. "Therefore it is one of the most important natural solutions to the climate change crisis that we're facing. "Unfortunately, seagrass is really vulnerable to changes in its environment and human-caused stressors. "We are seeing a temperature rise in Pelorus and Queen Charlotte and this is really affecting the seagrass, as obviously in these areas where it's found, there's not a lot of ocean circulation to keep it cool." Human activities could also damage the plants. "Things like trampling and anchoring can leave huge scars on the seagrass beds, and can kill off large areas." Environment and planning committee iwi representative Ruihana Smith said some whānau had put up their own signs to stop people walking on seagrass in the Sounds. "Seagrass, we call it rimurehia, it's a taonga (treasure), and we use it as an indicator species for things like mahinga kai, and the same thing, overall health," Smith said. He asked if the council had its own signs or planned to introduce any. McMillan said they planned to do it in the next financial year. Marlborough Sounds ward councillor Barbara Faulls asked if seagrass could be grown and then transplanted. Faulls said as a child she used to go to Davies/Umungata Bay in the Sounds, where the seagrass looked to have "receded significantly". McMillan said she had "deep dived" into transplanting. "Cawthron are carrying out a five-year project to try and see if they can transplant into areas that it has been seen before," she said. The coastal team had plans to provide a state of the environment report for each of the estuaries in the Marlborough Sounds so they could build a long-term trend on the presence of seagrass in the coastal marine area. "We will start to look at restoration and the shoreline protection programmes in a few of these estuaries," McMillan said. They also hoped to work on community outreach, and continue monitoring seagrass with consultant organisation Salt Ecology. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ on Air.
175 nations have agreed to develop a legally binding agreement on plastic pollution by 2024, prompting a major step towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions from plastic production, use and disposal. Held in Ottowa, Canada, from April 23-29, the last major round of negotiations will bring together the treaty's Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to draft a global, legally binding agreement by the end of 2024, according to the U.N. RNZ Pacific's Eleisha Foon spoke with Project Scientist at the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory, Neil Nathan who has been on the sidelines of the negotiations in Ottowa.
Rat eradication from islands is a team sport. It’s not a competition – but if it were, New Zealand would surely be up there. That’s why on most pest removal teams around the world you can probably find one or two Kiwis right in the thick of things. Click the play button, below. Learn more: Read the accompanying New Zealand Geographic article by Kate Evans, with photography by Richard Robinson. Listen to previous episodes of Voice of Tangaroa. Voice of Tangaroa is a joint production between RNZ’s Our Changing World and New Zealand Geographic. Reporting for this series is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air. You can learn more and read the articles for free at staging.nzgeo.com/seas. The Pacific Regional Invasive Species Management Support Service supported travel costs for this story.
The gains made in agricultural science over the past decade could slow as the government funding tap runs dry, the director of a programme using science to fix real-world issues in Aotearoa's natural environment says. The Our Land and Water National Science Challenge was launched a decade ago by the then-National government to produce definitive science on how to best manage land and water in New Zealand. Hundreds of research projects around managing land use and water quality were carried out over the past decade, to enhance the production and productivity of the primary sector. Interactive maps and tools were developed, many with farmers in mind, and numerous studies too - including the freshwater contamination research which exposed almost every region in New Zealand had at least one contaminant in excess of freshwater targets. Despite these gains in agricultural science, the new government has decided not to progress the programme. The decision comes amid shaky times for the broader tertiary education and science sectors, with staff at Crown research institute Callaghan Innovation asking the government to retain staff, amid restructure proposals. The programme's director, Dr Jenny Webster-Brown, said she was extremely concerned about the future for scientific research in New Zealand. "The long term vision for science in New Zealand is currently looking very shaky, indeed," said Webster-Brown. "Obviously we will lose some of our senior researchers if they can't attract funding, they will go overseas. "And I am very worried by the fact that the universities are also struggling financially at the moment, which means we're not only losing our senior researchers potentially, but we're cutting off the pipeline of good science graduates coming through." She said the government's pivot towards aeroscience or biotechnology was fine, but it did not recognise the importance of primary production research and technology. "Nowhere does things that are of direct benefit to New Zealanders and their environment feature, and there's no real support for our primary production economy coming through," she said. "I do worry that our government is rushing to make decisions before they've really got the evidence to back them up. "I understand the need to make things happen quickly, but you know, making things happen quickly when you're moving in the wrong direction is not of benefit to the country, I don't believe." Webster-Brown said the last day for most of its teams was 28 June, with some staff kept on to produce the final report for the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment due in August. Meanwhile, the government announced last week it would launch two new advisory groups to look at ways to improve the sector's effectiveness and impact - one for the science sector and the other for the university sector. An MBIE spokesperson said it was working with each national science challenge to manage the wind-down and to ensure their work had enduring impact. It said that included adding resources to publicly-available databases and tailoring reports for the end-users. It said where outstanding research was required, research projects could bid for contestable Marsden or Endeavour funds or other health research funds.
Dr Thom Linley has always been fascinated with fish, how they behave, their ecology and their different ocean habitats. He is a curator of fishes at Te Papa, and also co-hosts the Deep-Sea Podcast, where he speaks to scientists about their marine discoveries. Dr Linley was among the first teams to capture video of the world's deepest fish, including those living in the Kermadec Trench, just north of New Zealand. Various shows have featured his work, including Blue Planet II and Shark Week. He's also passionate about encouraging neurodivergent people into science.
Gibson’s and Antipodean albatrosses are citizens of no one nation. They are ocean birds, living on the wind and waves, travelling massive distances, passing back and forth over the high seas and the imaginary boundary lines we draw on maps. But when they land to chat, to flirt, to lay an egg and raise a chick, they come to two of New Zealand’s subantarctic islands. Three decades of albatross study And when they return some of them with meet with two familiar human faces. Across the last 34 years, Department of Conservation researchers Kath Walker and Graeme Elliott have been visiting these islands to count the birds, and to study them. At first everything seemed fine. In the early 1990s numbers were low but increasing. Things were positive. Then came the summer of 2006/2007. There was a population crash, reason still unknown, and on both islands, albatross numbers plummeted. These albatrosses don’t breed until they at least eight years old, only breed every two years, and tend to mate for life. Since the crash, Gibson’s albatross numbers have come back slightly, but Antipodean albatross numbers continue to decline. And adult birds, especially females, are still going missing. Hooks don’t discriminate Tuna fishing boats use a method called surface longlining to catch their prey. The lines can be up to 100 kilometres long, with thousands of hooks. Squid is used as bait, a tasty morsel for tuna. Unfortunately, albatrosses agree. Using satellite tags Graeme and Kath have watched missing albatrosses’ paths overlap with those of boats, and in one case, in which leg bands and the satellite tag were returned to them, follow the path of the boat. Listen as science journalist Rebekah White explores the albatross bycatch problem, and what we could do about it. Learn more: Read the accompanying New Zealand Geographic article by Rebekah White, with photography by Richard Robinson. Listen to previous episodes of Voice of Tangaroa. Our Changing World has previously interviewed Kath and Graeme about their research: in 2013 and 2009. Learn more about where these albatrosses breed from Our Changing World episodes about the Antipodes Islands, and the Auckland Islands. Voice of Tangaroa is a joint production between RNZ’s Our Changing World and New Zealand Geographic. Reporting for this series is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air. You can learn more and read the articles for free at staging.nzgeo.com/seas. Live Ocean Foundation supported some of the travel costs for this story.
A cetologist who has been researching Cook Islands whales for the past three decades says she is proud of the indigenous leaders for taking a stand for the conservation of to'orā (whales) across the region. Earlier this month, Aotearoa's Kiingi Tuheitia and the Cook Islands Kaumaiti Nui Tou Ariki have signed the He Whakaputanga Moana in Rarotonga that aims to give to'orā more robust protections that are recognised internationally. The entire body of the traditional House of Ariki (Cook Islands body of traditional chiefs) have supported the declaration acknowledging the cultural significance of whales and their role in the ocean's ecosystem. It also seeks to protect the rights of whales to migrate freely, salvage dwindling populations, establish marine protected areas, and set-up a dedicated fund for whale conservation. House of Ariki's head Travel Tou Ariki Cook Islanders had a responsibility to protect the creatures that dwell within the ocean. "This ocean belongs to the people of the Cook Islands. The whale is very important to all of us. That is why we stand up to protect the resources...to look after what we have in our ocean," Ariki said. Nan Hauser, who has spent the last 30 years studying Cook Islands whales, told RNZ Pacific indigenous leaders have made "a big statement". "It gives a really big statement and personhood to these whales that travel through the Southern Ocean to feed in Antartica and I'm hoping that it will be a voice to protect them." After 23 years of advocating for legislation, Hauser said this is a step in the right direction. Hauser has a special permit which allows her to get up close to the whales for her research purposes. She has been worried about other tour operators getting too close to whales in recent years saying whales can become aggressive when they feel harassed. "There's no real legislation yet that will stop people from harassing the whale's whether it be driving jet skis around them in circles or jumping on them." Hauser said many young ones are eager to swim very close to whales for selfies and this can be invasive of their personal space. "I don't think they're necessarily respecting the spirit of that whale, but I understand why people would want to do it cause its very cool to be underwater with a whale. "But it's their backyard and we really need to respect them." Rights give protection Earth Council Alliance chairperson Lelei LeLaulu said whales are culturally significant in the myths and legends of many Polynesian cultures. "The to'orā's were the spirits that led the canoes to their ultimate homes, therefore they're very important to them," LeLaulu said. "Whales are much more revered in Polynesia and that's why it's very significant that the Polynesian leaders themselves adopted this declaration." He said the declaration for legal personhood will preserve these stories by working towards internationally recognised conservation for whales across the Pacific. "By giving them personhood, it means that now they have rights and now people can sue on their behalf in the courts of law, and they can be much more closely protected. "Before they didn't have any rights, they were just 'bounty of the ocean' and open for anyone to do anything with them." The He Whakaputanga Moana declaration has also gained significant interest from other countries who are interested in supporting the protection of whales on a global scale. A big signing event of the declaration is expected to be held at the inaugural gathering of traditional leaders in Hawaii in June this year. Both Tou Ariki and Kiingi Tuheitia have confirmed they will be attending. They said they are looking forward to connecting with Pasifika leaders to ensure whale songs will continue to resonate through Te Moana Nui O Kiva for generations to come.
Science advisors and technical experts are among those set to lose their jobs as the Department of Conservation makes cuts to reach the government's savings target. Among the disestablished roles are the chief science advisor and the five-person aquatic delivery team, while the department's predator-free function would be substantially reduced. The Resource Management Act (RMA) regulatory delivery team is being cut from 20 people to four, and almost the entire strategic partnership team is being cut, with 21 out of 22 jobs disestablished and the one remaining advisor to sit under a different team. The department has been asked to make cuts for savings of 6.5 percent, on top of its separate 2024/2025 cost pressures of $7.2 million. An internal proposal document, seen by RNZ, showed any changes would be in place from July, following staff consultation. The plan would see a total of 270 positions disestablished, and the creation of 140 new roles, for a net reduction of 130 positions - although 101 of these were currently vacant. Amid public concern that management positions across the public service seem less affected, despite having the potential to make greater savings, DOC's restructure proposal showed management roles were substantially affected. Other changes included a reduction of the geospatial services team - put simply, the mapping used for environmental and urban planning - which is being cut by four. According to the change document: "This would likely impact service levels, and GIS work may take longer to deliver". Predator free staff will be split into two teams, one focused on eradication, the other on strategy and governance. Both teams would lose staff. The country has a goal of eradicating three of the most damaging predators - rats, stoats, and possums - by 2050. The change document showed plans to reduce expenditure, as well as the number of managers. Fixed term roles would be disestablished at the end of workers' contracts; two manager roles with a low number of direct reports will go. One new manager role would replace them. On the flip side, the document also revealed the intention to establish 20 new frontline ranger roles by July, which were not included in the above numbers. These positions would be funded from Budget 22, meaning the money could not be used to cover current roles. The freshwater species team will gain two more roles, and there would be no change to the biodiversity and climate system team. 'We will likely lose species out of this,' ecology expert says A lecturer in ecology at the University of Otago and former DOC staffer Jo Monks told Morning Report it was not necessarily strategic to lose those positions, as they were made up of roles which people had left, and then because of the hiring freeze had never been replaced. "I think DOC has been forced to reduce capability for a long time," Monks said. She said capacity in research and environmental monitoring was critical "in the midst of a biodiversity and climate crisis". Evidence-based decisions would be affected by the reduced capacity to provide technical advice, and many initiatives would suffer. "It's an organisation with a ginormous portfolio and responsibility, within a fairly limited budget. "It's a sector that desperately needs investment, reducing that is problematic. "What is being lost ... is science capacity, it's policy capacity, it's resource management space that's losing heaps of people and it's in line with the government's directive that we're going to prioritise short-term economic goals over environment and sustainability." There was an equivalent operating budget loss, too, meaning the department would have to pare back its work. "What we've been talking about mostly is the job losses, but there's equivalent operating budget loss, and that just means the DOC won't have the capacity to deliver on species conservation programmes," she said. "So we will likely lose species out of this. "I personally would rather not have a tax cut on my salary. I personally would rather that we invest properly across the government and that includes conservation."
Porirua residents once put out their bottles and jars out for recycling knowing they would go toward making new containers, but these days it is all going to use at the local landfill instead. Currently glass is crushed and used in roading and drainage at the tip - rather than living to see another day. It is because the city cannot afford a sorting machine and so coloured glass would have to be sorted at the kerbside - which is expensive. Porirua City Council General Manger of Infrastructure Mike Medonca told Checkpoint the changes are due to a contract ending with a previous provider. "So right now we collect the glass at the kerbside, we give it to a third party - in the past that third party would send it to Auckland, where it was sorted and recycled into glass bottles and jars, but when that contract finished we found out that option wasn't available to us. "What we've done is we've taken the glass, we crush it up, we use it for drainage and for roading in and around our landfill. "We think it's not fantastic and we'd much rather be properly recycling the glass which is why we are proposing these changes." What the council is proposing is changing to smaller crates for recycling glass - from 40 litres to 20 - and having recycling workers sort glass by colour into different pods on the recycling truck. "Once the guys have done that, the glass doesn't need to be touched again until it's turned into a bottle up in Auckland. "It's a great recycling story that we could have, the only problem is it's going to cost us a bit more to do that." The changes are being proposed as part of Porirua Council's Long-Term Plan that is now out for public consultation until 25 April. "We're currently asking the community what they think." Sorting coloured glass once could happen in Auckland, but the value of recycled glass has dropped and made it financially unfeasible to transport the unsorted glass. "Once upon a time recycled glass was worth a lot of money, and the price of that glass covered the cost of sorting it out. "Unfortunately the price of glass has greatly diminished and now we're finding we're having to think about different ways to get the coloured sorting done and the best way to do it, we've found, is to do it at the kerbside." However, the consultation and set-up time mean that there could be up to a five-year-gap since the old contract ended in 2022 until a new glass sorting system comes into place. Porirua ratepayers can, in the meantime, take their glass to the Spicer Landfill facility where people can sort their glass themselves, "if they're really dedicated," Medonca said. He said the council would continue to take glass and repurpose it locally, however. "We will continue to collect it and use it best we can."
A Dunedin astronomer is so excited by the prospect of witnessing a total solar eclipse on his doorstep, he bought his house 10 years ago with a view of it in mind. New Zealand is set to experience its first total solar eclipse in decades on 22 July, 2028. The last one was in 1965, visible in a small part of Northland. Earlier today huge crowds gathered across Mexico, the United States and Canada to witness the rare spectacle. In Niagara Falls on the US-Canada border, the sheer numbers forced officials to declare a state of emergency. Otago Museum director and astronomer Dr Ian Griffin is predicting the full solar eclipse here will also be a big tourism drawcard. He said it would track across the lower South Island, from Milford Sound to Ōtepoti Dunedin and it would occur around 4.15pm. "Anyone who is on a line basically going through Queenstown and Alexandra - all those places in Central from Milford to Dunedin will be able to see what those folks in America saw today. Of course it's the middle of winter and the sun will be low in the sky but that makes for some amazing pictures if we do get clear skies, so I'm particularly excited about it." Dunedin was planning to hold a Festival of Astronomy during that time, which also co-incided with Matariki, he said. But Griffin had his own personal plans. "I bought a house 10 years ago right on the centreline of the eclipse and I intend to be sitting on my deck enjoying my view of the eclipse setting over the hills surrounding Dunedin and I really can't wait." Griffin said before the total eclipse in four years time, Aotearoa would also be treated to a small dress rehearsal on 22 September 2025. "There's a really big partial eclipse of the sun which isn't total, but a lot of the sun will be covered. The sun will be rising and will look like a great big smile in the morning sky." The total eclipse which is set to pass over New Zealand in July 2028 will also track across Sydney along with other more remote parts of Australia. Dr Griffin said if the weather was good in New Zealand, that was where what he described as the "money shot" would be. "If you're in Milford Sound the sun will be setting behind Mitre Peak - eclipsed, and that really will be a picture for the ages." He said the eclipse would be a big global event and while Dunedin was already starting to make plans, he believed the rest of the country also needed to get ready for eclipse chasers to descend on our shores. And he is a bit of an eclipse chaser himself. He has witnessed the second longest eclipse in history in Mexico in 1991, which was seven minutes in totality, and in 2019 he travelled to Pitcairn Island to watch a total eclipse there. Griffin described a total solar eclipse as "the most beautiful natural phenomenon on earth".
Environment and recreation groups are warning the proposed cuts to Department of Conservation staff could cause long-term consequences and losses of flora and fauna as well as backcountry huts. The Department of Conservation (DOC) is proposing to cut 130 roles to meet the government's mandated 6.5 percent reduction in spending. "We have tried to find options that would have the least impact overall on people and on conservation outcomes," DOC said in a statement. It will not know the exact number of job losses until it has consulted with staff. Forest and Bird said DOC's budget was about the same as Christchurch City Council's, but it was expected to look after nearly a third of New Zealand's total land area. The department has already had its funding cut this year by 21 percent. Federated Mountain Clubs (FMC) president Megan Dimozantos told Checkpoint they were concerned about the effect job cuts would have on the mahi on the frontlines. "DOC already has the impossible task of managing a third of the landmass of New Zealand on less than half a percent of the government budget. "We're incredibly concerned about the budget cuts, that there's not a lot of fat there for the department as it is, and that we're really concerned about the the conservation outcomes that we're going to see under these cuts and the loss of skills and experience in the department that may occur." The department's plight to protect the conservation estate was highlighted in a DOC briefing to Conservation Minister Tama Potaka late last year: "Despite all we are doing to try to protect and restore habitats and assist species, nearly 4000 native species are either at risk or threatened with extinction. When species are lost from New Zealand, they are often lost from the whole world, and many are only holding on in small numbers because of intensive management". Likewise, Dimozantos was worried for the future of New Zealand's flora and fauna. "I mean, there's 4000 species that we're at risk of losing, isn't there? So, you know, I think that that's probably going to be the primary concern is that we'll lose things that we can't get back. "And I suppose from FMC's perspective as well, you know, that also applies to the to the places that people are recreating. We don't want to lose our backcountry huts network either. "The smaller, more basic huts that sit sort of a bit further out of the reach of the crowds ... those are probably the ones that we're most concerned about. They are looked after largely by volunteers at the moment, but obviously they could well be in the firing line with budget cuts." Potaka told reporters the government had been consistent in its messaging about preserving the frontline workers for essential services. "I have worked with the CEO and had discussions about the processes being undertaken but they're following their own internal guidelines, but as I say we're in the proposal stage and all things will be confirmed in due course. "[I have] had couple of conversations with the director-general to make sure that it's done in a respectful and mana-enhancing and judicious manner and I think she's been very deliberate and the agency has been very focused." Cut costs with more modest huts - FMC Dimozantos acknowledged the work of volunteers, who she said the department already relied heavily on to pick up gaps in conservation efforts. "Those people are really engaged with DOC and we work alongside DOC as partners. But obviously there's going to be a lot more pressure on even those resources now." A shift to more basic facilities on public conservation land could help ease cost pressures, she believed. "I think probably a lot of our Great Walks are looking a bit posh these days, and certainly if you look at the likes of Mintaro Hut, I think that costs over $4 million to build, whereas if you were to build a basic backcountry hut, a little six-bunker on the backcountry, you're probably looking at about 150 grand. "There's certainly places that that we could be a little more modest in the backcountry and still we're providing an awesome experience for people who want to go there." Many of DOC's 967 backcountry huts were ageing and in poor repair, while the length of track being maintained has grown from 11,000km to 15,000km over the last 14 years. The 2023 briefing to the minister also stated the current visitor network was "not sustainable" and taking staff and cash from biodiversity efforts. But Dimozantos did not believe raising fees for visitors would be wise; the more people paid, the more they expected from the public facilities, which would again mean higher costs on the department. Losing a tourism drawcard? A leading environmentalist said the job cuts at DOC risk damaging New Zealand's most valuable asset - nature. Environmental Defence Society chairperson Gary Taylor said the proposal was the latest move in the government's war on nature. "Not only are they introducing regressive laws to de-prioritise environmental criteria when making decisions about projects, they are now cutting funding for our core agency that manages one-third of our country." New Zealand's conservation estate was the main drawcard in one of its biggest exports - tourism - while agriculture also relied on the country's clean green image, Taylor said. Forest and Bird also warned of "long-term consequences for nature and the economy" from the proposed job losses. Advocacy manager Richard Capie noted this came on top of cuts at other government agencies involved in protecting New Zealand's natural environment, including the Ministry for the Environment, Biosecurity New Zealand and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Resarch. "The same day that the government released a report saying that New Zealand communities and economy are at risk if we do not protect our natural ecosystems and landscapes, it announced it was cutting jobs and the budget of the agency that leads Government conservation work," Capie said. "New Zealand cannot afford to lose highly skilled and dedicated Kiwis who are charged with protecting our threatened species and their habitats. "Not only do we have a government axing environmental protections through its fast-track reforms we now have the prospect of these cuts during a climate and biodiversity crisis. It makes no sense - not environmentally nor economically." According to the Sustainable Business Council, 70 percent of New Zealand's exports depended on natural resources. "We know that investing in nature-based solutions, increasing wetland protection, and controlling browsing mammals reduces the impacts of climate events and improves our ability to reduce emissions. A strong environment is the backbone of a strong economy," Capie said.
The government has welcomed the end of a ban on some fish exports to the United States. A US court ordered an immediate ban on New Zealand exports of several species from two fisheries off the North Island's west coast in 2022, after legal proceedings were filed by wildlife conservation groups Sea Shepherd New Zealand (SSNZ), and US-based Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS). The activists said they were trying to protect endangered Māui dolphin habitats, and claimed New Zealand's standards did not live up to those required under the US Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The injunction handed down by the United States Court of International Trade applied to nine species from the West Coast North Island inshore trawl and set net fisheries, including snapper, tarakihi and spotted dogfish. The ban was to remain in place until the United States found New Zealand's regulations for the fisheries were comparable with American standards, or until the court case was fully resolved. The court has now lifted the injunction, the government said on Wednesday. Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones and Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay said the reversal was a "win for commonsense". "This is a win for New Zealand's sustainably caught seafood and will help with the seafood sector's contribution to our export-led recovery," Jones said. "While the temporary halt affected only a relatively small portion of overall fisheries trade to the United States, we're pleased to see trade of all our sustainably caught seafood resume. "I am pleased to see commonsense prevail in the face of a spurious claim by environmental activists. This ban cost New Zealand in the region of $2 million in exports." Jones and McClay said a US investigation found "protections for Māui dolphins were comparable with, met and even exceeded, the US standards under its Marine Mammal Protection Act". "New Zealand has worked hard to help protect Māui dolphins from fishing-related risks and this decision reaffirms we have good protections in place," Jones said. "Our protections for Māui dolphins include introducing onboard cameras and banning set nets and trawl fishing within core Māui dolphin habitat along the North Island's west coast." There were only likely between 48 and 64 Maui's dolphins over one year of age, the Department of Conservation website said. Politics over science Sea Shepherd spokesperson Michael Lawry told RNZ "politics and power" had won over science, and they were disappointed NOAA Fisheries - the US government agency tasked with managing and conserving marine life there - "continues to back the New Zealand fishing industry rather than the Maui dolphin". "We were hoping in January 2024, NOAA would have agreed with the best science … but instead they approved New Zealand, which we'd then have to challenge again. "However, to keep challenging every two to four years is unsustainable. SSNZ would have liked another shot and (maybe) got another two-year ban. SSCS thought we'd achieved as much as we could through the US Court of International Trade, and by pressing forward with this lawsuit, NOAA Fisheries will be galvanised to expedite their process to weaken the MMPA import provisions. "NOAA have signalled they are going to make changes so it's harder for NGOs to challenge. It's possible another New Zealand-based group may take it up, win and achieve a ban for another two or so years. However, NOAA Fisheries can keep issuing new comparability findings in support of the NZ Fishing Industry to get around the ban(s)." Lawry said Sea Shepherd "are at our best when out on the water. So that's where we'll be focusing our efforts to help our native dolphin. We'd love a bigger vessel if any one wants to stamp their name on it."
The Department of Conservation is proposing to axe 130 jobs, spanning biodiversity, visitor services, and regional operations. University of Otago lecturer in ecology and former DOC staffer Jo Monks spoke to Corin Dann.
The UN body in charge of regulating global shipping has moved a small step closer to reaching its target of net-zero emissions by 2050. A statement from the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) said it had agreed on an "illustration of a possible draft" outlining how to reach net zero, following the conclusion of its Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting in London. Eight Pacific and Caribbean small island developing states, known as the 6PAC+, are calling for a US$150 levy on each tonne of greenhouse gas emissions produced by the shipping industry, to reach the IMO's targets. The proposal is an increase from the US$100 per tonne universal mandatory levy the group called for in 2019, which they wanted to come into effect in 2025. At the time it was dubbed a "landmark proposal". University College London shipping researcher, Tristan Smith, said the industry needed to both change the fuels it was using and be more efficient. "We need more time for the fuel transition, but we can do more with energy efficiency," he said. "Nothing suggests that being practical about that fuel transition, being realistic about how fast it can move, [means] we can't still get to the 20 percent, striving for 30 percent, 2030 targets greenhouse gas reduction, by primarily using energy efficiency." He said there were a number of ships already sailing predominantly on biofuels, but there was only a certain number of biofuels available, so it would not likely be the long-term solution for a new fuel. "There are vessels that are trialling and demonstrating hydrogen and hydrogen-derived fuels. "They are not available in volumes, and we'll need some time to mature - we'll need ships with new engines or modified engines in order to be able to use those fuels." Smith said a levy - like the one being called for by the 6PAC+ - is one way the industry could reach its targets. He said the IMO agreed to implementing greenhouse gas pricing last year, but this could take various forms. "The concept of a levy is one interpretation of how you could do greenhouse gas pricing and that means that you apply a kind of flat rate, of like $100 or $150, to every ton of emission," he said. "There isn't at this point agreement that that's exactly how this will be done." Smith said the greenhouse gas pricing needed to be a high price because the energy transition will require more expensive fuels than the ones currently being used. Last year, the IMO agreed to the net zero goal, aiming to cut emissions by 30 percent by 2030 and 80 percent by 2040. Last week, the IMO member states met to figure out the mechanisms of doing so. The statement said the draft outline lists regulations under the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, which will be adopted or amended to allow for a new global fuel standard and a new global pricing mechanism (carbon levy) for maritime greenhouse gas emissions. These could include an economic mechanism to incentivise transitioning to net zero, or a goal-based standard regulating the phased reduction of the intensity of emissions from marine fuel. Marshall Islands, Fiji weigh in Speaking at the closing plenary of the IMO meeting, Marshall Islands ambassador to IMO Albon Ishoda said there is a need for a "fundamental shift in the way we approach maritime governance and regulation". "We must recognize that the shipping industry, while indispensable to global trade and commerce, also carries a significant environmental burden," he said. "It is incumbent upon us to embrace the principle of "polluter pays", and implement economic measures that incentivize sustainability, penalize environmental degradation, and drive shippings' green transition." Meanwhile, Fiji said the progress made at the meeting had been commendable, signaling a positive step forward in addressing the challenges posed by the climate crisis within the maritime industry. "However, we believe there is still room for improvement. "We echo the statements made by the Marshall Islands that we must maintain focus on the overarching goal of creating a fair, inclusive, and environmentally sustainable future for everyone, aligned with the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals."
Today, with our ocean ecosystems under increasing pressure from commercial and recreational fishing, sedimentation, pollution, and warming, we need our marine protection to do more than preserve small areas for scientific study.
New research from Victoria University suggests even building a giant wall in the sea wouldn't be enough to stop sea level rise from two crucial Antarctic glaciers. Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers are melting and if they collapse, it could destabilise the huge West Antarctic Ice Sheet and cause catastrophic sea level rise. Eloise Gibson reports.
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