New Zealand - Overview

Status and trends of biodiversity, including benefits from biodiversity and ecosystem services

New Zealand is a Pacific island country composed of two main islands and many small islands. Due to its relative isolation from continental landmasses, New Zealand has a high level of endemic biodiversity with an estimated 80,000 species of native animals, plants and fungi. Endemic species examples include all the frogs and reptiles, more than 90% of the insects, approximately 80% of vascular plants and a quarter of bird species... More »

Main pressures on and drivers of change to biodiversity (direct and indirect)

The main drivers of change are:

• Competition including by invasive alien species,

• predation by introduced predators,

• herbivory by introduced herbivores,

• habitat modification and

• human activities

In addition, climate change contributes to pressure on New Zealand’s indigenous biodiversity... More »

Implementation of the NBSAP

The New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy “Our Chance to Turn the Tide” (2000) establishes national goals to halt and reverse the decline of New Zealand’s indigenous biodiversity, maintain and restore a full range of remaining natural habitats and ecosystems and ensure that viable populations of all native species are preserved... More »

Actions taken to achieve the 2020 Aichi Biodiversity Targets

The Government’s primary focus is on indigenous biodiversity, particularly endemic species, and for conservation work in situ rather than ex situ. Approximately a third of New Zealand’s land area is legally protected for conservation purposes. Between 2004 and 2012, the area of protected land (public and private) increased by 4.2%, bringing the total area protected for conservation purposes to over 8.5 million hectares... More »

Support mechanisms for national implementation (legislation, funding, capacity-building, coordination, mainstreaming, etc.)

Management actions are guided by a range of mechanisms, including sectoral strategies, species recovery and site management plans, and central and regional agency statements of intent/strategies. To facilitate more effective cross-agency interaction, the Chief Executive Officers of government agencies responsible for the management of New Zealand’s natural resources have established a committee to ensure that a strategic, integrated and aligned approach is taken to natural resources development and management across government agencies... More »

Mechanisms for monitoring and reviewing implementation

In 1997, the New Zealand Ministry for the Environment released its first State of the Environment Report, providing some datasets against which to measure trends. The most recent report was issued in 2007.

The Natural Heritage Management System is a monitoring tool which has been developed to enable the most cost-effective use of resources for conservation management... More »