New Zealand announces $1M fund to combat wilding pines

New Zealand Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard has announced a new $1 million community funding programme to support grassroots efforts in controlling wilding pines. The fund will operate over two years as part of the National Wilding Conifer Control Programme.

This initiative is an addition to $109 million being invested over the next three years to increase national control efforts. Wilding pines pose a significant threat to New Zealand, affecting over two million hectares. The invasive species can damage productive farmland, threaten water supplies in sensitive catchments, harm native biodiversity, and increase wildfire risks. Untreated areas are estimated to expand by approximately five per cent annually.

Expressions of interest for the community funding are expected to open later this year. The broader National Wilding Conifer Control Programme involves collaboration between central and local government, landowners, industry, Iwi, and researchers to manage invasive conifers such as Pinus contorta.