What work have we undertaken to contribute to this outcome?
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. The funding was shared, with $90,000 awarded to QEII and $130,781 to BPCT. In total, eight permanent protection projects were supported by this funding during 2024/25 and several other projects were underway but not registered by 30 June 2025. For 2025/26, there have been 21 new covenants registered in Waitaha Canterbury and, of these, five of the BPCT covenants and six of the QEII covenants benefitted from the funding support provided by Environment Canterbury in 2024/25.
In 2025/26, BPCT Conservation Covenants Programme was allocated $99,450 from our contestable Christchurch and Banks Peninsula Biodiversity Fund, which distributes a portion of the targeted biodiversity rates collected each year. The allocation was made later in the financial year than usual and will continue to support covenanting projects in the Banks Ecological Region in 2026/27.
Who else plays a role?
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.
How does this link to our Climate Action Plan?
This measure is directly linked to Action D in our Climate Action Plan Te Mahere Huringa Āhuarangi: Work with partners, communities, and key stakeholders in developing a connected network of indigenous, climate-resilient ecosystems across Canterbury from the mountains to the sea. This action aims to develop strategic approaches to establish connected indigenous ecosystem networks in the region, allowing biodiversity to thrive in the face of climate change and other threats, and delivering a range of other benefits including enhancing mahinga kai, flood resilience, and carbon sequestration.
D2 aims to measure the result this action is working towards: the total area of private land in Waitaha Canterbury protected by registered covenants. Around 60–70 per cent of land in Aotearoa New Zealand is privately owned, including many areas of significant biodiversity and cultural value, so partnering with landowners through covenants is a key way to permanently safeguard indigenous biodiversity outside the public conservation estate. Growing the area under covenant helps build the connected, climate-resilient ecosystem network Action D is working towards. D2 helps show the difference Action D is making over time, using data from the QEII National Trust/Ngā Kairauhi Papa and the Banks Peninsula Conservation Trust (BPCT), with 30 June 2024 as the starting point for reporting.
Find out more about our Climate Action Plan.
Where can I find more information?
More information can be found on the websites of QEII and BPCT.
Download the 2024/25 results for D2: Area of indigenous habitat on private land under legal protection by covenant is increasing (PDF file, 289.4KB)
