4000 native species still under threat of extinction despite change, new report shows

Tuesday, 9 April 2019

More than 4000 native plants and animals, including the kererū, are at risk of extinction and only 'positive actions by people' can turn that around, a report says.

More than 4000 native plants and animals, including the kererū and the kiwi, are at risk of extinction despite a community push for conservation, according to a new report.

A new four-yearly progress report, New Zealand's Sixth National Report to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, details some positive trends in a public conservation effort – but bad news for our native flora and fauna.

Public conservation efforts like tree plantings are what is needed to create change, the report shows.

Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage said while improved planning, more indigenous nature on private land under protection and more people enjoying conservation experiences were wins for conservation, it still wasn't enough.

'Land use changes, introduced predators and pests continue to threaten our most precious ecosystems, native plants and wildlife,' she said.

Introduced mammals, particularly stoats, pose a threat to kiwi. Pictured, a kiwi receives a health check at Kaipupu Sanctuary in Picton.

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'More than 4000 of New Zealand's native plant and wildlife species are threatened or at risk of extinction and more needs to be done.'

Among the endangered animals are the Maud Island frog, of which there are only about 20,000 left, Maui's dolphins, which number just 55, and the New Zealand fairy tern, which number between 35 and 40.

According to the report, rats and stoats were still among the worst offenders for reducing native animal populations.

The New Zealand fairy tern population sits between 35 and 40, with only about 10 breeding pairs.

Biosecurity New Zealand figures showed introduced plants were also a threat, with wilding pines spreading at a rate of 5 per cent a year and already covering 1.8 million hectares.

Those threats were contributing to the declining numbers of some of New Zealand's most well-known birds. The kerurū, voted Bird of the Year in 2018, is threatened by rats, stoats, cats and possums.

Fairy terns and kiwi are also preyed on by introduced mammals.

If big change was to happen, it had to be done through 'positive actions by people', the report said.

'To achieve widespread and lasting gains for biodiversity it is essential that biodiversity becomes a mainstream issue across society.'

Eighty-five per cent of people acknowledged New Zealand's natural environment improved their lives, the report said.

The Department of Conservation's acting director of community engagement, Annie Wheeler, said New Zealand living was based on a healthy environment and it needed to stay that way.

'At the moment, communities around the country have been coming forward to launch their own initiatives – to tackle what they see as important conservation challenges,' she said.

The report showed initiatives like 'Enviroschools', in which one third of all schools was now taking part, was part of a community effort to further public knowledge on how to reduce environmental impacts.

'What we are really seeing now in schools is taking knowledge into action and using that learning and thinking about how you apply it to real life situations,' Wheeler said.

She said community support was needed because for a long time DOC and councils were seen as the only groups that could sort out the problem.

According to the report, only one in 10 adults actively helped with a conservation project – a figure that hadn't improved since 2014.