National Outcome 1: Improved Biodiversity and Biosecurity
Improve measurement, management and protection of New Zealand’s terrestrial biodiversity, including in the conservation estateRelevant national goals:
- By 2025, New Zealand’s biological heritage is more resilient and its decline is reversed (BioHeritage).
- New Zealand is protected from biological risks through an effective biosecurity system (MPI).
- Māori are managing their interests in biodiversity reflecting different iwi and hāpu priorities, and sharing in the benefits of its use, to support their economic and social aspirations and fulfil their responsibilities as kaitiaki (NZ Biodiversity Strategy).
Background
The integrity of New Zealand’s iconic natural heritage is central to our identity, culture and lifestyle. It is also important to our economy, through its market access value and the provision and regulation of fresh water, pollination, waste clean-up and other ecosystem services. Intergenerational responsibility for the management of native ecosystems, expressed through kaitiakitanga, is central to Māori aspirations.
New Zealand’s biodiversity is in decline. It is under increasing threat from invasive species, climate change, land use intensification and conversion, mining, urban development and a variety of other pressures.
We work with DOC, MPI, regional councils, iwi, wildlife sanctuaries, non-governmental and community groups, as well as business, to improve New Zealand’s biodiversity management and biosecurity. We also contribute through major national initiatives such as the BioHeritage Science Challenge, Better Border Biosecurity and Predator Free New Zealand.
Outcome 1 MBIE Strategic Funding
Non-MBIE Strategic Funding excludes BioHeritage Challenge funds dispersed to other organisations
The relatively large allocation of MBIE Strategic Funding to Outcome 1 reflects Landcare Research’s national leadership in public-good biodiversity research, as well as our custodianship of several biologically-based Nationally Significant Databases and Collections, which are critical to Impact 1 and also support Impact 2. Our biological Databases and Collections play a critical role in protecting New Zealand’s native and productive species and landscapes from biological risk by providing authoritative species identification and risk assessments. This is a key activity in demonstrating pest and disease freedom to maintain market access for New Zealand primary sector goods.
In 2013/14, some Outcome 1 funding was realigned to Outcome 4 to better support New Zealand’s access to export markets through greater focus on high-risk species and species of specific interest to the primary sector. In 2014/15, we reprioritised some resources to focus more on biodiversity management to better support conservation agency and community efforts to protect species, restore habitat and better manage and monitor valued biodiversity. In 2015/16, a small amount of Outcome 1 funding was realigned to support Outcome 2, reflecting the increased focus on supporting biodiversity preservation and enhancement through more sustainable land management practices on private land.
In 2016/17, we continue to recognise that much of New Zealand’s biodiversity is on private land, outside the Conservation estate, and new tools, approaches, policy instruments and incentives are needed to protect biodiversity on private land, including Māori-owned land. We are also investing more in research to better protect New Zealand’s valued species. These shifts are well-aligned with the National Statement of Science Investment directions of improving New Zealand’s environmental evidence base, and balancing productivity and sustainability.
A significant proportion of our Outcome 1 MBIE Strategic Funding will be aligned to New Zealand’s Biological Heritage National Science Challenge. This recognises that, overall, Landcare Research is the largest provider in New Zealand of biodiversity research, and much of our research will be crucial to the Challenge achieving its mission of reversing the decline in New Zealand’s biodiversity.
MBIE Strategic Funding of collections and associated information systems supporting this work
Around a third of Landcare Research’s total MBIE Strategic Funding is allocated to the maintenance and curation of seven of New Zealand’s 25 Nationally Significant Databases and Collections. Most of these are biologically-based Collections which chart New Zealand’s plants, insects, fungi and bacteria and which represent important national science assets for the country. The following Collections and information systems provide underpinning information for Outcome 1 activity in support of national biodiversity and biosecurity goals:
- New Zealand Arthropod Collection
- New Zealand Fungal and Plant Disease Collection and the associated International Collection of
Micro-Organisms from Plants - Allan Herbarium
- National New Zealand Flax Collection and the associated Ngā Tipu Whakaoranga Database on cultural uses of plants
- National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank
Impact 1.1
The status, trend and resilience of native biodiversity and its pressures are understood and support management and protection of terrestrial species, ecosystems and landscapes.
16/17 Research Focus Areas
- Continue to enhance the relevance, impact and use of collections-derived knowledge by
- developing new species identification tools on high-priority species for end users
- digitising and developing information systems to improve access to species information online.
- Increase the use of nationally-consistent biodiversity measures by
- scaling national metrics to regional, local and project-scales
- co-producing biodiversity indicators within kaupapa Māori frameworks to support use of valued species by Māori
- new methods to identify tipping points for ecosystems and enhance ecosystem resilience.
- Pursue new techniques to make biodiversity measurement more cost-effective by
- continuing to develop 'next generation’ biodiversity monitoring
- improving techniques to quantify and integrate uncertainty into environmental reporting indicators.
Impact Key Performance Indicators:
- 70–80% MBIE Strategic Funding of research outputs are on-track or completed.
- 80–90% of Research Focus Area key research initiatives success measures achieved (3-year rolling average, noting that, as a new measure, it will be only partially reported in the first two years)
Impact 1.2
New and improved tools are available to reduce the decline of terrestrial species, ecosystems and landscapes.
16/17 Research Focus Areas
- Improve identification of the most threatened ecosystems, habitats and species through
- tools to predict where native biodiversity is under most threat
- tools to predict the social, economic and policy factors most likely to reverse the decline in biodiversity.
- Boost protection of threatened and/or treasured native ecosystems, habitats and species by
- developing new approaches and tools to restore the most threatened ecosystems and species
- developing new methods to improve the resilience of iconic species to critical risks and threats
- co-developing biodiversity management plans with iwi
- refining methods and approaches to increase the success rate of weed biocontrol agents
- scaling up activity to optimise large-scale approaches to pest control
- improving surveillance, detection and control technologies and strategies for pest organisms
Impact Key Performance Indicators:
- 70–80% MBIE Strategic Funding of research outputs are on-track or completed.
- 80–90% of Research Focus Area key research initiatives success measures achieved (3-year rolling average, noting that, as a new measure, it will be only partially reported in the first two years).
Outcome Key Performance Indicators
Measurement of progress towards Outcome 1 is informed by a suite of agency KPIs to which Landcare Research Impacts contribute:
- Improving trends in the conservation status of indigenous species (Statistics NZ/MfE)
- By 2025, 50% of New Zealand’s natural ecosystems benefit from pest management (DOC, stretch goal)
- Health of the biosecurity system is improving (MPI).