A senior Department of Conservation manager says she really feels for cash strapped Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari and hopes that something can be worked out concerning funding.
“I think they’re in a really tough predicament,” said DOC Waikato District operations manager Jane Wheeler.
Helen Hughes at Maungatautari. Photo: Chris Gardner
Wheeler’s comments come after Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari general manager Helen Hughes told The News a cash flow crisis could force the closure of the world’s largest predator-proof fence by the end of August.
Hughes said the project had lost $1.5 million worth of funding over four years with the loss of the contestable Department of Conservation Community Fund and other sources of funding, and $500,000 was needed to continue the work currently underway.
“We moved from baseline funding contribution to funding specific projects,” Wheeler explained.
Conservation “island” at Maungatautari
Over the last four years DOC had supported Maungatautari with $589,000 of Jobs for Nature funding to support the work of mountain rangers, $441,000 worth of threatened species monitoring funding, such as kākāpō and hihi (stitch bird), and $140,000 worth of operating costs funding.
“So, we do provide a lot of actual practical in-kind support,” she said.
“We have a situation where we are really prioritising where we put our money at the moment. We don’t have lots of money to spend. I hope that something can be worked out for them.”
DOC was directed to find 6.5 per cent savings from its budget to meet the coalition Government’s savings target.
“We are looking at other options, but I’ve got a lot of work to do to find out if I have any options,” Wheeler said.
“We need discussions with Helen and [co-chair] Don [Scarlet] and the governance board and people above me in the organisation. At the moment I can support with staff and expert advice.”
Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari, viewing tower. Photo: Hamilton and Waikato Tourism.
Conservation minister Tama Potaka
The News is seeking comment from Conservation Minister Tama Potaka who, on June 18, told Parliament’s Environment Committee it would probably cost trillions of dollars to save all New Zealand native species so New Zealand should adopt a targeted approach.
“If we say, hand on heart, we’re going to save every single species and get it out of a space where it’s endangered or at risk that job is going to take an absolutely probably superhuman effort that will cost, I don’t know, I wouldn’t want to imagine the cost, but that is literally hundreds of billions probably trillions of dollars,” Potaka said.
“I don’t think we’re in that space, we’re in a much more practical space to say what are the species, what are the areas, what are the ecosystems that we’re going to focus our attention on and get to that.”
Priyanca Radhakrishnan
Labour spokesperson for conservation Priyanca Radhakrishnan said the Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust was carrying out important work with others.
“It’s a challenging time for them and others in the conservation sector,” she said.
“Everyone has a role to play in safeguarding our precious animal and plant life here in Aotearoa New Zealand. It is disappointing that the coalition government has cut the Department of Conservation’s budget by 6.5 per cent. This will undoubtedly have an adverse impact on Aotearoa’s biodiversity and the health of our eco-systems.”
