Conservation roadmap released for the next 20 years

Conservation roadmap released for the next 20 years
 
The New Zealand government has recently released its roadmap for conservation and environment science, which will cover the next 20 years.
 
Its main purpose is to identify areas of scientific knowledge that the government needs that will help with decision making in the areas of environmental policy and conservation. Long-term, it is hoped that it will help address any current policy gaps, reduce duplication between departments with similar goals, and improve research coordination throughout the country.
 
There are six themes to the roadmap, each of which will play its role in the future of New Zealand. These are; environmental monitoring and data management, Matauranga Maori, climate change, biosecurity, integrated ecosystems and processes, and social and economic factors.
 
Conservation Minister Maggie Barry spoke about the road map at the recent annual Bluegreens forum, saying “we need to focus our research efforts on innovative technologies and take the long view if we want to improve New Zealand’s sustainability and resilience in the face of increasing conservation challenges”.
 
The map was created by taking account of a number of factors such as existing policies, international obligations, government objectives, as well as public feedback on future research policies from a formal consultation process last year.
 
Of course, New Zealand has set some challenging and exciting goals, such as one to become predator-free by 2050, and another to grow the population of kiwis to 100,000 by 2030. Initiatives such as this roadmap are essential to help such goals come to fruition, and to keep conservation a main driver for policy decisions.
 
You can read more about the road map on the website for the Ministry of the Environment here.