Indigenous biodiversity in Aotearoa New Zealand is in a dire state. We have the highest proportion of threatened species in the world and critical habitats like wetlands are being lost at an alarming rate.
Current public and private investment is falling short of addressing nature loss, so the Government has proposed a new Biodiversity Credit System to enable landowners who protect and restore native wildlife to be rewarded for their actions.
Provided it is well-designed and has high integrity, we think such a system has huge potential to turn the tide on biodiversity loss. But we also want to see the Government explore a wider range of options to finance biodiversity and incentivise the protection of our declining native ecosystems and wildlife.
WWF believes that any biodiversity incentive scheme must be designed to ensure tangata whenua and local communities can be the primary beneficiaries, ensuring both biodiversity and socio-economic wellbeing benefits are delivered.
WWF-New Zealand, the Environmental Defence Society (EDS) and Pure Advantage prepared a joint submission on the “Helping nature and people thrive: exploring a biodiversity credit system for Aotearoa New Zealand" Discussion Document, prepared by the Ministry for the Environment (MfE) and the Department of Conservation (DOC).