Saving our species

We need to talk about the new tools that could help preserve the country’s endangered creatures.

- ADELE CARSON

In 2018, a working team of 24 specialists identified 117 global conservation and biodiversity issues, with 15 identified as key. Why conservation on this scale in New Zealand, you may ask. One good reason is that this country has one of the most extensive registers of threatened and endangered species.

Although conservation globally is an issue, the stance different countries opt to take is individual. Several people have noted the “ambitious” plan for a pest-free New Zealand by 2050. Three radically different perspectives have been proposed: a high level of consideration for nature; the need for restoration in cities; and the growth of landscape restoration, with a suggestion New Zealand becomes one national park.

Since the late 1980s, new rodent and vertebrate pesticide development and use have fallen. Yet, some claim this has not been the case in New Zealand, where traps and toxins are still being used and also actively developed. Emerging methods include wireless technologies for species recognition (assisting trapping programmes), self-resetting traps, and toxin-delivery systems, with selective baiting and delivery systems enabling more targeted control of pests. Crucially, the ingredients and tools for change exist, but practical experience in these areas is short, compared with traditional methods.