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Forest & Bird » Threats & Impacts

1. Tawaki
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   The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment in her report to Parliament in May 2011 pointed out that seven eighths of NZ public conservation land, managed for all of us by the Department of Conservation, receives no systematic or effective pest control.

   NZ's vulnerable native plant and native animal species are all collapsing where there is no pest control. The pest control tools are available right now through aerial and systematic pest control operations primarily using sodium fluoracetate (1080) to achieve comprehensive pest control for a cost of less than $7/hectare/annum.

   This means there would be a total cost to treat all of DOC's "Abandoned 7/8ths" of around $42 million annually or about 13% of DOC's current budget. This assumes 6 million hectares requiring treatment out of a total of 8 million hectares under DOC management of which 1 million ha is already receiving regular 1080 treatment and 1 million ha is ice, rock and snow and would not be treated.

   If I was asked to allocate 13% of my present budget to achieve the goal that I am legally required to do for the NZ Parliament, I would quickly work out how to do it and get on with the job. If it meant closing/downsizing a few Visitor Centres, cutting back on new expenditure such as $6.8 million for a new Punakaiki Visitor Centre, downsizing the fancy Wellington Head Office and reducing DOC's driving around by 50% well so be it. That is a small price to pay to save our unique natural heritage which after all is why the organisation exists.

   What is the Senior Management of DOC, the NZ Conservation Authority and above all the Minister of Conservation doing to make sure that that this conservation work killing pests to save vulnerable species happens right here right now!

   Posted 9 months ago #

2. Tawaki
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   Forest and Bird President Andrew Cutler put that question to the Minister of Conservation when the F&B Executive team met her recently.

   Andrew describes this issue in the latest F&B August Newsletter:

   "The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment (PCE) Jan Wright’s
   report on the use of 1080 clearly spells out the value and benefit of
   this toxin and urges the government to simplify the rules restricting its use
   and expand its application.
   At a recent meeting with the Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson,
   Forest & Bird urged her to adopt these recommendations and redirect
   DOC funding from more expensive pest control tools to the highly
   effective and efficient 1080.
   Forest & Bird believes the evidence and methodology shows pest control
   can be extended to a larger area of the public conservation estate at
   no extra cost, and with substantial benefit to our threatened species.
   Whether or not the political willpower is there is yet to be seen. I hope it is."

   Good on you Andrew and lets all start asking the MInister and the DG of DOC and the NZ Conservation Authority the same question.

   Posted 9 months ago #

3. Tawaki
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   http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/5402045/Muesli-flies-in-for-treatment

   This is a story about thousands of dollars being spent to medicate one Northland brown kiwi with an ear infection.

   The kiwi is from the Whangarei Kiwi sanctuary which is sponsored by the NZ taxpayers and the BNZ and supported by locals. It is just the sort of national media touchy-feely story that BNZ craves in return for its commercial sponsorship.

   DOC spin doctors have told their staff to publicise these stories to the media at every opportunity. They will argue it is a key part of their public awareness programmes. However having told the cute story about bird Mary, Jane or Hugo, they never go the next step to explain that without effective 1080 pest control, thousands of kiwis and other birds are dying. The figure, I understand, is that 26 million native birds are killed by pests every year.

   The DOC spin doctors are desperate to be seen by the public to be doing something "nice" for conservation. Woe betide a DOC senior manager who talks about something "nasty" such as the 7/8th of NZ conservation land getting no pest control. Isn't it time for a bit more conservation honesty from the department and its Minister and less "popcorn for the public" cutesy animal stories?

   Otherwise isn't it is a bit like a farmer showing the public the green grass and cute little calf or lamb on 1/7th of his/her farm while on the other 7/8ths the animals are dying or starving and the fields are wrecked.

   If we want to be totally realistic, the thousands of dollars being spent on one kiwi (or recently on 1 penguin, Happy Feet) could instead have provided sustained 1080 based pest control to hundreds of hectares of natural conservation land that otherwise won't receive any pest control. It certainly wouldn't be cute or cuddly But not only would such programmes save tens or hundreds of kiwis, they would also save other native birds species, land snails, insects and the vulnerable tree species upon which all the native wildlife depends.

   It is about time that we got comprehensive ecosystem recovery plans from DOC instead of all these cutesy animal rescue stories tailored for TV and the media.

   Incidentally the signal that you are about to be bombarded with such a cute animal story, is when you hear that the bird has got a cute name. That is the cue that the DOC staff involved have stopped being nature conservators supervising the maintenance and recovery of complete natural ecosystems and instead have turned into zookeepers.

   While on the subject of DOC cuddly animal spin, can anyone please tell me why one of the world's rarest birds, Sirocco the Kakapo, is being dragged around New Zealand for public display. Is it something to do with the Rugby World Cup?

   Posted 9 months ago #

4. Raptor
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   Totally agree with you Tawaki, it is gut renching to see what is happening but what else can you expect when the DG of DOC is a spin doctor himself?
   Guess you have to consider yourself fortunate to live in the 1/8th that gets some predator control and can still enjoy the kaka and kea, whilst the rest of us watch our native biodiversity slowly shrink away, whilst they waste money on fancy visitor centers and flash signs.
   I look forward to time on the Coast shortly enjoying some of the last remaining birdlife left in NZ.

   Posted 9 months ago #

5. black tomtit
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   Tourists arn't going to want to come here if they are only going to see rats, stoats hedgehogs and others that they can see in their home country. While kiwi and kakapo are cute they can't survive without snails and native worms to eat. We must conserve the snails and native worms too. You're correct in saying they can't afford to waste money on fancy signs! you have made a good point about the Emperor penguin too. These aren't endangered and yet are hogging the ICUN red list when endangered and little known birds like rock wrens are slipping towards extinction. I think rock wrens should be in the media spotlight more often than keas as they are restricted to the alps and I 've already seen lots of keas in captivity and some in the wild and I've never seen a rock wren and would love to do so!
   And as for your question about Sirocco yes he IS being dragged around the country for the Rugby World Cup.

   Posted 9 months ago #

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