Native Forests Report - Resetting the balance

2020 has been a unique and challenging year for our planet, and one that has driven home to most New Zealanders how fortunate we are to be living in an incredible country that is comparatively less polluted than many others, sparsely populated and generously furnished with natural resources. The beauty and diversity of New Zealand’s landscapes is world renowned and accessible to us all.

However, all is not well in this incredible ecosystem we call home. The intensification of land use in New Zealand is driving huge numbers of our plant and animal species to the brink of extinction, air, soil and water pollution is increasing, and introduced mammals are decimating our native flora and fauna. While there are many projects underway across the country to address these issues, greater effort – at scale and at pace – is required to achieve real impact, and stem irreversible damage to our native biodiversity.

Through a series of discussions, interviews and workshops, the Biodiversity Domain of the Aotearoa Circle agreed that there is an opportunity to expand the role that businesses and government play in accelerating the regeneration of our native biodiversity, and this could be done through incentivising and scaling native planting across the country. Unfortunately, existing structures and mechanisms favour the planting of exotics species (Pinus radiata in particular) over New Zealand native species. Changes and further incentives are needed to reduce the feasibility and viability gap between exotics and natives, and ‘level the playing field’.

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