BIODIVERSITY
OUTWITTING KEA TO KEEP CONSERVATION ON TRACK
WANAKA, NEW ZEALAND
Photo: Chris Ford
Interested in supporting destinations that actively engage in conservation and environmental stewardship? This sanctuary near Wānaka, New Zealand, is working to preserve the unique animals and bird life that make the country famous.
What's
changing
As conservation efforts scale up, collaboration is becoming increasingly vital to achieving broader and deeper results.
What's already
possible
In Wānaka, New Zealand, six groups representing 84 community groups, landowners and businesses work together to conserve the area within the Southern Lakes Sanctuary. This Southern Alps region is a natural barrier of lakes, rivers and mountains where invasive predators that wreak havoc on New Zealand’s native plants and animals can be stopped.
Seizing
the opportunity
Across New Zealand, isolated populations of native flora and fauna are being protected, but these separate clusters do not have the resilience of large, widespread populations. The Southern Lakes Sanctuary is a 660,000-hectare (2,500 square miles) area where conservation happens across a large, contiguous space. Systematically trapping and removing invasive species is a frequent activity there and complements efforts to build native animal populations. A 100-kilometer (62 miles) trap line runs between Wānaka and Glenorchy at an elevation of 1,835 meters (6,000 feet) to prevent stoats from migrating over mountain passes in the summer.
Standout
tactic
Kea, one of the birds the organization wants to save, are known to be curious. To prevent kea getting caught in traps when they investigate them, the traps have artificial intelligence to ensure the traps are triggered only when an animal matches the image of a specific predator species.
How
it helps
The efforts of more than 1,000 volunteers in the Southern Lakes Sanctuary is essential for New Zealand’s goal to be predator-free in 2050. By June 2024, they had captured and removed more than 46,000 predators. Recent public funding cuts have led to reduced operations and are raising the potential for setbacks in predator eradication. The sanctuary now receives private donations to sustain conservation efforts and address these challenges.
Diving
deeper
How can large-scale conservation projects best manage fluctuating volunteer numbers, funding cuts and potential ecological shifts while caring for vast, open spaces?
Increasing
impact
Conservation programs could develop ecotourism initiatives that highlight their missions and results through guided tours and volunteer opportunities.
Traveling
better
Travel is inherently carbon intensive. Whether you are taking a mini-break or an annual vacation, consider ways to minimize your impact by staying longer in one place, reconsidering how you travel to the destination, and supporting businesses that are working to make their community and the world a better place.
