New Zealand government launches measures to protect native biodiversity

New Zealand has provided a new system of "biodiversity credits" in an effort to help support the native ecosystem.

In theory, the project will fund conservation projects and programs to save threatened species, by selling these credits to inidividuals, business owners and landowners.

Associate Minister for the Environment James Shaw says the following:

“Sixty three percent of our native ecosystems are now threatened, and a third of our native species are threatened or at risk of extinction. It’s time we find new ways to incentivise conservation, protect our precious wildlife, and provide clearer guidance on how to identify, manage and protect biodiversity.”
“Landowners, land managers, farmers, and Maōri should be looking at their wild spaces as a taonga, but also as a valuable source of supplementary income. This can then be used to support on-the-ground conservation, like reforestation, wetland restoration, or planting native vegetation."

In a further win for nature, clearer direction on how to identify, manage and protect areas of significant biodiversity will be phased in over several years, from 4 August.

All we can do is die trying.