Our Mission
A Steering Group met on a number of occasions in late 2018 to explore and discuss opportunities before setting our mission to: inspire and enable Hurunui’s landowners/kaitiaki/custodians and the wider community to understand, value and enhance our district’s varied biodiversity, with particular focus on indigenous biodiversity.
Biodiversity, or biological diversity, means the variability among living organisms from all sources, including land, marine and freshwater ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are a part; this includes diversity within species (including genetic diversity) between species and of ecosystems (based on the definition of the Convention on Biological Diversity).
Why is biodiversity important?
From Te Mana o te Taiao – Aotearoa New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy 2020
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People are part of nature and nature supports life and human activity.
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All aspects of our wellbeing, physical, cultural, social and economic, are dependent on nature and the services that it provides.
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Natural wellbeing underpins our lives, lifestyles and livelihoods.
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Nature is valuable for its own sake (intrinsic value) and is linked to our identity as New Zealanders.
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Our vision for a future with nature that has thriving, vibrant, vigorous mauri will result in thriving wellbeing for the people of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Pressures and threats to biodiversity
DIRECT
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Changes in land, freshwater and sea use.
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Introduced species.
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Exploitation for food and resources.
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Pollution.
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Increasing threat of climate change.
INDIRECT
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Not having the right 'systems' in place.
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not having enough knowledge or resources to act.
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Disconnect between people and nature
Proportion of NZ indigenous species found nowhere else on earth
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Birds - 72%
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Vascular plants - 84%
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Insects - 81%
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Marine mammals - 7%
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Freshwater fishes - 88%
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Reptiles, Frogs, Bats - 100%
State of Biodiversity
Snapshot
Marine Birds - 31% 'threatened, 60% 'at risk'
Freshwater Fish - 43% and 33%
Land Reptiles - 35% and 55%
Lakes - 46% in poor health
Wetlands - 10% remaining, still declining
Indigenous forest and Shrubland - 40,800 ha converted between 1996 and 2018
Positive side - status of 26 bird species has improved and much good work happening across a variety of agencies
Encouraged by positive feedback following our early events, in 2020 we established the Hurunui Biodiversity Trust to promote these Key Messages:
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for everyone to share in understanding and valuing the full spectrum of Hurunui's biodiversity.
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restoring, enhancing and protecting biodiversity requires active management and everyone can help
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to achieve successful biodiversity outcomes landowners/kaitiaki/custodians need to be supported, motivated and empowered.
Initiatives to deliver these messages include field-days, presentations, the resources on this site and the Hurunui Zones of Action Plan