Kakapo Recovery partnership extended

  • Kate Wilkinson
Conservation

Minister of Conservation Kate Wilkinson today welcomed the extension of the long-running Kakapo Recovery partnership between the Department of Conservation, Rio Tinto Alcan New Zealand and Forest & Bird – signed during Sirocco the kakapo’s debut at Zealandia in Wellington tonight.

“Established in 1990, this is one of DOC’s longest-running conservation partnerships. This extension will see DOC and Rio Tinto continue to work together for the next four years,” Ms Wilkinson says.

“This means a continuation of the Kakapo Recovery programme’s important work – including running breeding programmes and maintaining predator-proof sanctuaries – and a strengthening of the wild kakapo population, which has already more than doubled to well over birds since 1990.

“I applaud Rio Tinto’s commitment to this partnership – to date staff have contributed around 880 work days to the programme and, by the end of 2015, Rio Tinto will have provided around $4.75 million to kakapo recovery.

“This partnership is a great demonstration of just what can be achieved when the Government, the private sector and the community work together toward a shared conservation goal.

“All New Zealanders have a stake in the survival of this iconic parrot, and I look forward to seeing the continued success of the kakapo recovery programme into the future."

Background Information

• The kakapo or ‘night parrot’ is unique to New Zealand that was pushed toward extinction by human colonisation and the introduction of predators. By 1995 only 50 kakapo were known to exist. Today there are 129 kakapo being managed by DOC on Whenua Hou/Codfish Island, near Stewart Island, and Anchor Island in Fiordland.

• The Kakapo Recovery Programme combines the efforts of scientists, rangers and volunteers to care for the last kakapo in the world. This work includes intensive monitoring of kakapo, regular health checks, predator control, supplementary feeding, artificial incubation and hand-rearing, research (groundbreaking artificial insemination in birds, genetic studies, and supplementary feeding trials), and developing technology.