Landmark forestry & conservation alliance [NZ]
Friday 2 Oct 2026
Kaingaroa Tipu has just revealed details of a $2 million
partnership agreement with Hawke’s Bay-based Forest Lifeforce
Restoration Trust (FLRT) to support long-term ecological restoration and
protection across 11,359 hectares of indigenous forest in
inland Hawke’s Bay, mid-way between Taupō and Napier.
The partnership is based on an initial 10-year commitment that will give
the time needed to prove significant improvements in forest health and
species recovery. Both organisations have agreed to a formal progress
review after five years, with the possibility of extending the
collaboration further.
It is formalised through a comprehensive 10-year ecological management
plan (2026-2036) that unites the proven conservation expertise of the
Forest Lifeforce Restoration Trust with the extensive operational
resources of Kaingaroa Tipu. Together, the organisations will manage
ecological and environmental restoration work on the Trust’s
Pohokura property north of the Napier-Taupo Highway, ensuring the
preservation of one of the region’s most significant natural
assets.
Pohokura is a site of exceptional ecological value, featuring an
uninterrupted sequence of indigenous vegetation progressing from lowland
to subalpine bioclimatic zones. It serves as an important ecological
corridor within the mountain ranges of the central North Island and
provides critical habitat for many threatened and at-risk species of
plants and animals.
The partners will implement an ambitious work programme designed to
enhance the site’s status as an area of High Conservation Value.
Priorities include:
- Intensive Pest Management: Expanding the existing
predator control network to cover nearly 90% of the property. This
includes the installation and maintenance of over 500 DOC 250 traps and
additional Sentinel possum traps to protect vulnerable fauna such as the
North Island brown kiwi (eastern form), whio (blue duck), and kākāriki.
- Threatened Species Recovery: Continuation of the
highly successful kiwi restoration project, which has already seen over
300 birds released at Pohokura. The plan also focuses on the recovery of
the nationally threatened Pittosporum turneri (Turner’s
kohuhu), in conjunction with Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, with
new deer exclusion fencing and propagation programmes aimed at
bolstering population numbers.
- Ecosystem Protection: Active control of invasive
pest plants, including wilding conifers and gorse, to protect critically
endangered frost flat ecosystems - an uncommon habitat type that
requires rigorous protection to survive.
- Research and Monitoring: Ongoing monitoring of
indigenous biodiversity, including surveys for long-tailed and short-tailed bats, terrestrial invertebrates and freshwater fish populations,
ensuring that management decisions are guided by the best available
science.
This strategic alliance is a cornerstone of Kaingaroa Tipu’s
broader sustainability strategy. As the manager of approximately 200,000
hectares of plantation in the central North Island, the forestry
management company is committed to maintaining Forest Stewardship
Council (FSC) certification. This requires that natural areas within
forestry management units be managed for conservation purposes to
reflect the diversity of local habitats.
"Pohokura represents a significant opportunity to enhance our ecological
footprint,” said Colin Maunder, Kaingaroa Tipu’s General
Manager of Sustainability. “By partnering with the Forest
Lifeforce Restoration Trust, we are not only meeting our FSC
requirements but actively contributing to the restoration of this
country’s indigenous biodiversity on a landscape scale."
More >>
Source & image credit: Kaingaroa Tipu
|
