New Zealand is looking to private investors to potentially finance long-term conservation projects and protect threatened native species through a biodiversity credit scheme.
(Bloomberg) — New Zealand is looking to private investors to potentially finance long-term conservation projects and protect threatened native species through a biodiversity credit scheme.
Such a system creates financial incentives for owners to manage land in a way that benefits native wildlife and plants, many of which are in decline, Associate Minister for the Environment James Shaw said Friday in Wellington. The government has published a consultation paper and is seeking feedback by November.
New Zealand frequently cites its green credentials but 63% of its native ecosystems are threatened and many of its native species face extinction, Shaw said. Biodiversity credit schemes are being developed globally to fund the protection and conservation work needed to arrest the decline, with Australia introducing a bill to establish a “nature repair market” in March.
“It’s time we find new ways to incentivize conservation, protect our precious wildlife, and provide clearer guidance on how to identify, manage and protect biodiversity,” Shaw said.
By buying credits, private investors will directly fund efforts by landholders to protect, maintain and enhance indigenous vegetation and habitats, including shrublands, grasslands, wetlands and natural and regenerating native forests, the ministry said in the consultation document on its website.
For farmers and other landowners such as indigenous Maori, their wild spaces become not just precious zones but also a valuable source of supplementary income when they sell credits, Shaw said.
The ministry said the government will need to have a role in the market so potential investors have confidence in the system. Part of the consultation is to explore what roles the government could play, including whether it would need to be a regulator.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.