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BIODIVERSITY

OUTWITTING KEA TO KEEP CONSERVATION ON TRACK

WANAKA, NEW ZEALAND

WANAKA, NEW ZEALAND

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.

At a time when
humanity has become
disconnected from nature,
there are still some places that can help you return

home.

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VIEW MORE: BIODIVERSITY

EARNING REWARDS BY CARING FOR FRAGILE ECOSYSTEMS

CLOSED FOR MAINTENANCE, OPEN FOR VOLUNTOURISM

1 MILLION TREES IN A FOREST OF BUILDINGS

WHERE FISH LIVE IN TREES

SAVING THE SEA LIONS LIVING WITH KANGAROOS

FLOCKING TO THE AID OF LOCAL PARROTS

CITIZEN SCIENTISTS MONITOR REEF HEALTH

DAM THE TRASH

TURTLES THRIVE AT A LUXURY RESORT

FORE-ST! WHERE GOLFERS LOVE TREES

SEAL SITTERS TO THE RESCUE

OUTWITTING KEA TO KEEP CONSERVATION ON TRACK

RETAIL THAT REVITALIZES

TOURISM, BUSINESSES AND RESIDENTS KICK OUT INVASIVE SPECIES

VISITING IN THE DARK

RECLAIMING LAND FOR KOALAS

SLINGING MUD BALLS IN A TROPICAL PARADISE

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