In Aotearoa New Zealand, around 60–70 per cent of land is privately owned and includes many areas of significant biodiversity and cultural values.
Covenants, along with incentives and collaborative approaches, can encourage and support landowners in their conservation efforts. Covenants are legally binding agreements and involve partnering with private landowners to permanently safeguard areas of indigenous biodiversity on their land. Well managed covenanted land not only enhances biodiversity by also creates a lasting legacy for future generations.
Covenanting is a tool that Environment Canterbury promotes and advocates for, supporting landowners and the covenanting organisations in Waitaha Canterbury – the Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ National Trust/Ngā Kairauhi Papa (QEⅡ) and the Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust (BPCT).
| 2023/24 baseline | New | 2024/25 result | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Territorial Authority | № of registered covenants at 30 June 2024 | Area protected (ha) at 30 June 2024 | № of covenants registered 2024/25 | Area newly protected (ha) in 2024/25 | Total № registered covenants 30 June 2025 | Total area protected 30 June 2025 |
| QEⅡ open space covenants in the Canterbury region | ||||||
| Ashburton | 22 | 132.4 | 1 | 11.5 | 23 | 143.9 |
| Christchurch | 90 | 2,095.80 | 5 | 108.8 | 95 | 2,204.60 |
| Hurunui | 83 | 3,144.00 | 5 | 68.7 | 88 | 3,212.70 |
| Kaikōura | 21 | 979.3 | 21 | 979.3 | ||
| Mackenzie | 7 | 1,466.00 | 7 | 1,466.00 | ||
| Selwyn | 38 | 648.9 | 38 | 648.9 | ||
| Timaru | 48 | 919.5 | 48 | 919.5 | ||
| Waimakariri | 21 | 504.2 | 1 | 92.1 | 22 | 596.3 |
| Waimate | 48 | 1,162.80 | 48 | 1,162.80 | ||
| Waitaki | 11 | 4,503.00 | 11 | 4,503.00 | ||
| Total QEⅡ | 389 | 15,555.80 | 12 | 281 | 401 | 15,836.80 |
| BPCT covenants in Banks Peninsula, Christchurch | ||||||
| Total BPCT | 105 | 1,651.00 | 4 | 435 | 109 | 2,086.00 |
| Total | 17206.8 | 16 | 716 | 510 | 17,922.80 | |
In Waitaha Canterbury, the costs of creating legal protection on private land, which may include surveying, legal costs and fencing, are generally shared between the landowner and the Trust facilitating the covenant. The Trusts rely on funding from a range of sources.
In 2024/25, Environment Canterbury allocated $220,781 from a targeted rate collected to support biodiversity projects in Christchurch and Banks Peninsula to QEII and BPCT. In total, eight permanent protection projects were supported. Several other projects are underway but were not registered by 30 June 2025. These will be reported next year. The funding was shared, with $90,000 awarded to QEII and $130,781 to BPCT.
The most important contribution comes from landowners who choose to place a covenant on an area of land they own. They will continue to own and manage the protected land, and the covenant remains in place, even if they sell to a new owner.
QEII and BPCT rely on donations and grants from multiple sources – which make their work to protect indigenous habitats on private land possible.
More information can be found on the websites of QEII and BPCT.