Awarua hosts launch of global island restoration pledge

Left to right: Penny Nelson, Paul Norris, Dean Whaanga, Gail Thompson, Levi Lanauze, Wes Sechrest

On Friday 21 February, Te Rau Aroha Marae hosted an important event to support the aspirations of mana whenua to remove predators and rewild Rakiura/Stewart Island, Maukahuka/Auckland Island, and the Chatham Islands.

The focus of the event was the announcement of the entry of the three islands into the international Island-Ocean Connection Challenge (IOCC).

The IOCC, led by international conservation groups Island Conservation and Re:wild and UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, aims to restore at least 40 island ocean ecosystems around the world by 2030. 

“Te Rūnaka o Awarua was delighted to host this event to launch the entry of these three motu (islands) into the IOCC,” Awarua Rūnaka spokesperson and co-chair of Te Puka Rakiura Trust Dean Whaanga says.

“Two of the three islands, Rakiura/Stewart Island and Maukahuka/Auckland Island are located within the Ngāi Tahu takiwā (territory) and our role as kaitiaki (guardians) of these motu is of immense significance to our whānau (people),” Dean Whaanga says.

“Our success in restoring the small offshore islands surrounding Rakiura has laid the pathway for the mahi that needs to be done on Rakiura and Maukahuka,” he says.

Signatories to New Zealand’s IOCC pledge are the Department of Conservation, Te Rūnanga o Hokonui, Te Rūnaka o Awarua, Te Rūnaka o Waihōpai, Te Rūnaka o Ōraka Aparima, Te Puka Rakiura Trust (Predator Free Rakiura), Hokotehi Moriori Trust, Ngāti Mutunga o Wharekauri Iwi Trust and Chatham Islands Landscape Restoration Trust. Predator Free NZ Trust and Predator Free 2050 Ltd are supporting partners.

The goal of the partnership is to raise $137 million to support ambitious plans to remove invasive animals, protect threatened wildlife, and restore the island ecosystems so they’re resilient to climate change which have been.

The three island pest eradication projects will be ground-breaking in their scale and complexity. They are 4-15 times larger than Campbell Island, which is the biggest island of Aotearoa cleared of pests to date. Rakiura and the Chatham Islands also have human settlements – a first for New Zealand predator free projects of this size.

Plans for removing introduced predators from the islands have been in train for many years and are well advanced. Extensive research and feasibility work has been undertaken, involving a wide range of expertise including in science, predator control, planning and logistics, and community engagement. 

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