As the largest region in the country, Canterbury forms a significant part of New Zealand’s unique network of biodiversity. Working with landowners and the community, our biodiversity programme focuses on projects across the region that protect, maintain, and enhance our indigenous biodiversity.

The common threats to biodiversity remain the same; introduced animal and pest plants, and continuing land use change and intensification. These threats continue to and have the potential to further inflict landscape-wide ecological devastation on biodiversity values.

Our approach to biodiversity is to focus on protecting and maintaining what remains, specifically in our vulnerable priority wetland, braided river, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. This is achieved by working collaboratively with others, by being efficient with the available resources, and by leading by example on our land.

Our biodiversity work

Our yearly project snapshot provides an update on key achievements across our biodiversity programmes and projects underway from across the region.