A DOC partnership with the NZ Nature Fund will help raise money for three causes including saving the tara iti/New Zealand fairy tern. Photo: Supplied / Darren Markin
The Department of Conservation (DOC) is asking for private and philanthropic donations to fund its work.
The cash-strapped agency announced a partnership with the NZ Nature Fund, which would raise funds and match donors to high priority conservation projects, selected and delivered by DOC.
At the moment, donors could contribute to three causes: saving the Alborn skink, limestone ecosystems or tara iti/New Zealand fairy tern, with an initial goal of raising $4.6 million across the three causes.
The department has long struggled with a lack of funding. In March, its director-general Penny Nelson told members of Parliament during its annual review it was being spread too thin, and its work was being curtailed
The agency did not escape the government's sweeping cost-cutting directive, and it was asked to find savings of 6.5 percent - $31.3 million per year from 2024/25 - and announced cuts to 124 jobs.
Budget 2024 saw a decrease in funding on previous years, with cuts to programmes like Jobs for Nature and the Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary, for a total reduction of $134m.
Forest and Bird chief executive Nicola Toki Photo: Supplied
Forest and Bird chief executive and former DOC threatened species ambassador Nicola Toki said this funding model was a "slippery slope".
While the department had a long history of private and philanthropic support, it should be "the icing on the cake", she said.
New Zealanders expected the government to invest in protecting the environment, especially at a time when this country has the highest proportion of threatenened indigenous species in the world.
The natural environment was also a huge drawcard in terms of tourism, Toki said.
RNZ understands decisions are yet to be made on the proportion of the newly raised visitor levy that goes toward conservation, but it will no longer be automatically split 50/50 with tourism as in previous years.
Toki said it didn't make economical sense to neglect an asset that was bringing in money.
"When you have an asset that delivers your economic returns, you invest meaningfully and properly in those assets," she said. "We just don't need what turns out to be the equivalent of a sausage sizzle."
Conservation minister Tama Potaka said in a statement: "As seen around the world, conservation efforts are facing significant financial and environmental challenges.
"It is essential that the department works with others, such as the New Zealand Nature Fund, to support priority conservation projects and help save endangered species and ecosystems for everyone's benefit."
He said his priorities were targeting investment at high conservation outcomes, generating new revenue, strengthening relationships with iwi, and fixing concession processes by cutting red tape.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
