Resource library

Following comments by the Prime Minister about the part of the public conservation estate known as stewardship land, Forest & Bird is rereleasing a report on value of conservation stewardship land, available here.
 

New mining activities have been approved across more than 150,000 hectares of public conservation land since 2017, OIA documents obtained by Forest & Bird reveal. 

Forest & Bird is welcoming new protected areas as a starting point for improving protection of the Mackenzie Basin, but lamenting the vast areas which remain unprotected. 

Forest & Bird welcomes this morning's announcement that the Government intends to put cameras on boats on over 300 commercial fishing boats, but warns that the industry and Government needs to get on with job. 
 

We should be doing better when it comes to controlling pollution in our waterways. By Forest & Bird freshwater advocate Tom Kay. 

Forest & Bird is urging the National Party to rethink many of its conservation policies, which will let pests run rampant on conservation land, allow grazing in precious high country areas supposed to protect native species, and weaken National Park

Commitment from all political parties to implementing the new Te Mana o te Taiao - Aotearoa New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy is vital to protecting our future, says Forest & Bird.  

Forest & Bird is calling for all political parties to back an end to mining conservation land, after a permit was issued to mine the home of a critically-endangered native animal.

Most of our rivers, lakes, and wetlands have better protection from new freshwater rules announced today, but a few key omissions leave our fresh water at risk. 
 

A new Bill before Parliament needs to be strengthened before it can stop long-term biodiversity loss on New Zealand’s nationally-treasured high country landscapes, says Forest & Bird.
 

Fisheries NZ Minister Stuart Nash’s 2019 decision to allow East Coast tarakihi stocks to remain overfished for the next 25 years is not environmentally sustainable or legal, Forest & Bird will argue in the Wellington High Court from July 22nd.

Te reo o te taiao - Voice for Nature

Forest & Bird and Federated Mountain Clubs are taking court action over management of Paparoa National Park.
 

Forest & Bird has won in the Supreme Court against a coal mining company trying to push through an opencast mine near Westport, in a ruling which has implications across the whole of New Zealand.

Forest & Bird is pleased Friday’s High Court ruling on the introduced tahr population control is clear - Himalayan tahr must be reduced to 10,000 animals, removed entirely from National Parks, and the Department of Conservation (DOC) can get started

Forest & Bird welcomes a new sustainable vision for the primary sector, but says it needs to be backed up with strong rules, meaningful support, and a change of attitude from industry laggards.
 

The Government has listened to public demands to save Māui and Hector’s dolphins, but loopholes remain in the Threat Management Plan announced today.

Forest & Bird is seeking a declaration from the High Court that an operational plan to control tahr is illegal, and fails to meet the requirements for national parks and wilderness areas.

Without change, the RMA fast-track bill will sacrifice environmental protection to speed up projects which may not even help with the economic recovery, Forest & Bird told the Environment Select Committee today.
 

Forest & Bird is calling on the Government to reinstate a freshwater nitrogen limit of 1.0 mg/l into its proposed freshwater reforms, after the organisation obtained alarming readings of nitrate-nitrogen in public drinking water supplies.

Forest & Bird is calling on Aucklanders to tell their council to reinstate protection for nature in this year’s budget.
 

Patricia (Pat) Heffey of Kamo has been awarded Forest & Bird’s leading Old Blue honour for her decades working to protect nature in Northland, including her leading role in saving Ngunguru Sandspit from development. 

Forest & Bird has named Waitākere as the winner of its annual branch award for its outstanding work in protecting and advocating for nature in West Auckland.

Sophie Handford has been named winner of Forest & Bird’s Te Kaiārahi Rangatahi o te Taiao youth award after a year in which she led New Zealand’s School Strike 4 Climate movement and became one of the youngest ever local body councillors.

Liz Carter has been awarded Forest & Bird’s prestigious Old Blue for outstanding service to the Napier branch, including more than three decades as a committee member.

2020 marks the 50th anniversary of Forest & Bird’s record-breaking petition that saw nearly one in 10 Kiwis signing to save Lake Manapōuri. By Caroline Wood

Climate change is likely to see the demise of a rare species of kānuka on a tiny island in the Bay of Plenty, but local plant lovers are determined to keep it alive on the mainland. By Meg Collins* 

Our rivers, lakes, and wetlands will have better protection from new freshwater rules, but a few key omissions leave it to chance whether our freshwater can be brought back from the brink.

The new National Action Plan for protecting seabirds from commercial fishing hooks and nets has made a big leap forward, with a new goal of reducing seabird deaths to zero.

Forest & Bird’s annual Be With a Tree celebration this year focuses on the intangible benefits of trees to people. 

Forest & Bird has laid an urgent complaint with the Chief Ombudsman, after MBIE officials took 30 days to refuse a request to release information on how the decisions are being weighted on nearly 2000 ‘shovel-ready’ project proposals.
 

Forest & Bird is appearing in the Supreme Court in Wellington today against Stevenson Mining, the coal company planning an opencast mine on the pristine mountain top of Te Kuha on the West Coast of the South Island
 

A $1 billion investment in environmental jobs is a significant boost for New Zealand’s struggling native wildlife, rivers, wetlands, and forests but Forest & Bird isn’t calling Budget2020 a victory for people and planet just yet.