Strategic priority
Rerenga rauropi,
tiakitanga taiao
Biodiversity and biosecurity
What we want to achieve
People working together to protect and restore our unique local native plants and animals, and the indigenous ecosystems they live in.
What does this mean?
Indigenous ecosystems in the Waikato region include hill country forests and scrub, remnants of lowland forest, lakes, wetlands, waterways, alpine tussock grasslands, coastal dunes and the coastal marine area.
The why
Connection to our natural environments, and the native plants and animals within them, is an important part of our culture and way of life. But these environments and species are threatened.
Only 27 per cent of the land in our region remains in native vegetation, with less than 10 per cent in many lowland districts. More than 200 species of native plants and animals are under threat of extinction, several of which are unique to the Waikato region. Most habitats continue to degrade due to animal pests and weeds. Some 75 per cent of our peat wetlands have been drained or filled for pastoral or urban use. When peat is drained for development, the carbon in peat becomes exposed to air and forms carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.
Reversing biodiversity loss is possible, but only with greater and more collective effort.
We can’t live without biodiversity; our economy depends on it. Protecting and restoring biodiversity is an investment in our future.
Biodiversity helps clean our water, recycle nutrients, provide food, and protect from flooding. Maintaining and enhancing these ecosystem services is also the most
cost-effective way we can address the climate crisis. The more biodiversity we have and the healthier it is, the greater its capacity to store carbon dioxide, helping reduce emissions and increasing resilience to environmental change.
Our biosecurity work enables this by reducing the impacts of weeds, pests and diseases, and protecting human health.
Goals for success
By 2025
Work with partner agencies to have an agreed region wide biodiversity accord in place.
Progress a prioritised strategic pathway for our region that protects and restores biodiversity out to 2050 and beyond.
Support and empower people to protect and restore the natural environment and taonga species by integrating their efforts with councils and other agencies.
Work with others to protect ecosystems, human health and economic activities though effective pest management.
What does this mean?
Taonga species are plants or animals and their ecology that are significant to the identity and wellbeing of local Māori, iwi or hapū.
