Predator Free Dunedin will receive\u00a0$3.9 million over the next three years to advance its predator elmination programme,\u00a0support Predator Free 2050 goals and test approaches that can benefit conservation efforts across New Zealand.<\/p>\n
The invesment from the Department of Conservation (DOC)\u00a0will enable Predator Free Dunedin (PFD) to focus on eliminating feral cats, stoats and possums across a connected coastal and rural landscape stretching from Port Chalmers to Orokonui Ecosanctuary,\u00a0towards Aramoana Peninsula and north to the Blueskin Bay area.<\/p>\n
It will also underpin the continued maintenance of the possum-free status of Otago Peninsula by strengthening local biosecurity, enhancing detection and monitoring, and supporting rapid response when new predator incursions occur.<\/p>\n
Together, these activities will protect existing gains and provide a practical test of how predator elimination can be achieved and sustained across real-world landscapes where communities, farmland and conservation areas meet.<\/p>\n
PFD\u2019s progress has always been built on the strong support and commitment of \u014ctepoti\/Dunedin residents \u2014\u00a0from backyard trapping and trapline\u00a0volunteers to action in communities, on private properties and across the wider landscape.<\/p>\n
That momentum has helped create the conditions for this next phase of work, and this funding will allow it to continue in key project areas. The result is a programme that is both locally grounded and nationally relevant.<\/p>\n
DOC\u2019s investment reflects confidence in PFD\u2019s ability to deliver conservation outcomes at meaningful scale while generating knowledge that can support Predator Free 2050 initiatives nationally.<\/p>\n
PFD will work closely with DOC on the delivery of the programme and ensure lessons and results are shared with other Predator Free projects.<\/p>\n
A nationally significant programme Sally Peart, Chairperson of Predator Free Dunedin Trust, said the investment was a significant vote of confidence in PFD\u2019s role within the national Predator Free 2050 movement.<\/p>\n
\u201cPredator Free Dunedin is more than a local conservation project. This investment will allow us to test and demonstrate approaches that could help accelerate predator elimination efforts elsewhere in New Zealand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Otago Peninsula has shown what long-term commitment, community support and innovation can achieve. This funding allows us to build on that experience and test how those lessons can be applied across a larger, more complex landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n
Partnership will remain central to the programme. K\u0101ti Huirapa R\u016bnaka ki Puketeraki and Te R\u016bnaka o \u014ct\u0101kou, communities, landowners, volunteers, DOC and partner organisations will continue\u00a0to play a key role in shaping and delivering its success.<\/p>\n
PFD Project Lead Rhys Millar said the value of the investment extended beyond the biodiversity outcomes achieved in Dunedin.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll be testing, measuring and refining our approach so that the evidence and learning from this investment can benefit projects around the motu working towards Predator Free 2050.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSuccess will be measured not only by the conservation gains we achieve here in Dunedin, but by the practical knowledge, partnerships and systems we can share with others working towards a predator-free future for New Zealand.\u201d \u2014\u00a0Allied Media<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Predator Free Dunedin will receive\u00a0$3.9 million over the next three years to advance its predator elmination programme,\u00a0support Predator…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":549702,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-549701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=549701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549701\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/549702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=549701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=549701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=549701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}