A $10 million funding boost is set to support predator-free initiatives across Tāmaki Makaurau and the Hauraki Gulf, including plans for Auckland’s first urban mainland predator elimination project.
Conservation Minister Tama Potaka and Auckland Minister Simon Watts announced the funding at Long Bay on Friday, saying the investment will help accelerate existing predator-free work across the region while developing new approaches that could be applied elsewhere in Aotearoa.
The funding, sourced from the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL), will be delivered over five years and builds on partnerships between mana whenua, Auckland Council, the Department of Conservation, conservation groups and philanthropic organisations.
Opening his speech with “Toitū te marae ātea a Tangaroa a Hinemoana, toitū te marae ātea a Tāne Mahuta a Hineahuone, toitū te taiao,” highlighting the investment was about ensuring Auckland’s natural environment could continue to flourish.
He said Auckland had demonstrated what could be achieved through collaboration.
“Tāmaki Makaurau has already shown what can be achieved when iwi, councils, communities, conservation groups, philanthropists, scientists, and volunteers work together. We are backing that success and helping take it to the next level,” he said.
The investment will support work across mainland Auckland and the Hauraki Gulf, with a key focus on planning Auckland’s first urban mainland predator elimination project.
“It will help accelerate predator-free initiatives already underway across the region, support planning for Auckland’s first urban mainland predator elimination project, and take the next step towards extending predator elimination into the Auckland city isthmus,” Potaka said.
Potaka emphasised the role of mana whenua in Auckland’s conservation success, acknowledging Ngāti Manuhiri, Ngāti Pāoa, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki and Te Kawerau ā Maki, and described mana whenua as central to the region’s conservation efforts.
He said Auckland’s combination of biodiversity, community conservation networks and “committed mana whenua partners” made it well placed to continue expanding predator-free initiatives.
The funding also builds on years of conservation work supported by the NEXT Foundation, which has backed projects including Rotoroa Island, Project Janszoon, Predator Free Wellington and Zero Invasive Predators.
Potaka paid tribute to philanthropists Neal and Annette Plowman and the NEXT Foundation, saying their support had helped shape the course of modern conservation in New Zealand.
“From Rotoroa Island and Project Janszoon to Predator Free Wellington, Zero Invasive Predators and the work that helped inspire Predator Free 2050 itself, their contribution has left a lasting mark on our natural environment,” he said.
The Government says predator control efforts have already led to native species returning to parts of Auckland and ecosystems beginning to recover.
Potaka said the benefits extended beyond biodiversity outcomes.
“When native species recover and ecosystems thrive, the benefits extend well beyond conservation. Communities build stronger connections with their local environment, biodiversity is strengthened, and international and domestic visitors are drawn to places where nature is flourishing.”
The Auckland funding follows a recent $5.5 million Government investment in Predator Free Wellington and sits alongside support for more than 20 large-scale predator-free projects and thousands of community-led conservation initiatives around the country.
