Waikato Biodiversity Strategy

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The Waikato rohe (region) is home to an extraordinary richness of native plants, animals and ecosystems, from wetlands and geothermal areas to forests, rivers, lakes and coastal habitats. But this natural richness is under increasing threat. Pressures from land use change, invasive pests and diseases, pollution, habitat loss and the impacts of climate change are driving biodiversity loss.

Why is biodiversity important?

Biodiversity is vital to our wellbeing. It purifies water, recycles nutrients, provides food and shields us from flooding. It also strengthens our resilience to climate change, supports our economy and sustains our cultural identity. Therefore, protecting and restoring biodiversity is not just conservation – it’s an investment in the health, prosperity and future of our region.

Why do we need a strategy?

On-ground efforts by landowners, iwi and hapū and local communities are making a valuable contribution to improving our region’s biodiversity; however, we do not yet have a shared, regional strategy to bring these efforts together.

A regional strategy is an opportunity to unite people and efforts under a shared vision with clear goals and direction, so we can achieve meaningful biodiversity outcomes together at a landscape scale.

By working together – landowners, iwi and hapū, councils, government agencies, community groups and organisations – we can harness diverse perspectives, knowledge and resources to create a living strategy that evolves over time and supports a thriving and resilient natural environment for generations to come.

Answer nature's call to action!

We're keen to hear from landowners, iwi and hapū, community groups and organisations to help shape a biodiversity strategy for the Waikato region. The feedback you share will inform key elements of the strategy and help us decide where to focus our efforts.

To help with this, we’re putting together a short survey with quick questions as well as an interactive map so you can show us the conservation work happening in your area. It’ll be opening in early February 2026, so keep an eye out – we’d love to hear from you.

The Waikato rohe (region) is home to an extraordinary richness of native plants, animals and ecosystems, from wetlands and geothermal areas to forests, rivers, lakes and coastal habitats. But this natural richness is under increasing threat. Pressures from land use change, invasive pests and diseases, pollution, habitat loss and the impacts of climate change are driving biodiversity loss.

Why is biodiversity important?

Biodiversity is vital to our wellbeing. It purifies water, recycles nutrients, provides food and shields us from flooding. It also strengthens our resilience to climate change, supports our economy and sustains our cultural identity. Therefore, protecting and restoring biodiversity is not just conservation – it’s an investment in the health, prosperity and future of our region.

Why do we need a strategy?

On-ground efforts by landowners, iwi and hapū and local communities are making a valuable contribution to improving our region’s biodiversity; however, we do not yet have a shared, regional strategy to bring these efforts together.

A regional strategy is an opportunity to unite people and efforts under a shared vision with clear goals and direction, so we can achieve meaningful biodiversity outcomes together at a landscape scale.

By working together – landowners, iwi and hapū, councils, government agencies, community groups and organisations – we can harness diverse perspectives, knowledge and resources to create a living strategy that evolves over time and supports a thriving and resilient natural environment for generations to come.

Answer nature's call to action!

We're keen to hear from landowners, iwi and hapū, community groups and organisations to help shape a biodiversity strategy for the Waikato region. The feedback you share will inform key elements of the strategy and help us decide where to focus our efforts.

To help with this, we’re putting together a short survey with quick questions as well as an interactive map so you can show us the conservation work happening in your area. It’ll be opening in early February 2026, so keep an eye out – we’d love to hear from you.

  • Stakeholder workshops and engagement

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    In 2025, representatives from local councils, central government agencies, community organisations, non-governmental organisations, industry as well as iwi took part in a series of workshops and one-to-one hui, which served as a starting point for discussions about biodiversity.

    Participants were asked to share their aspirations for biodiversity and to identify the barriers, solutions and opportunities they have for restoring biodiversity in the Waikato region. A report sharing the insights of all of the feedback we received is available in the sidebar of this page, under Ngā rauemi | Key documents.

    This information has also been incorporated into the engagement report.

    View photos from the Hamilton workshop

    View photos from the Thames workshop


  • Analysis of statutory and non-statutory documents

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    An analysis of statutory and non-statutory documents has been carried out to identify gaps and the key issues facing biodiversity in the Waikato region. This mahi also included an analysis of iwi environmental management plans as well as the biodiversity strategies and action plans of other organisations.

    The information gathered informed the development of the discussion document – Te reo o te taiao: A call from nature, which has been used to support engagement with stakeholders.

  • Key players in biodiversity management

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    Biodiversity management in the region involves a wide range of people and stakeholders, including landowners, iwi and hapū, central government agencies, regional and local authorities, non-governmental organisations and community groups.

    In 2024, various organisations joined the Waikato Biodiversity Accord. This high-level, non-statutory agreement brings together iwi and key stakeholders with a shared commitment to develop and implement a regional biodiversity strategy.

    Find out more about the Waikato Biodiversity Accord


  • National direction

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    The National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity (NPSIB) is considered an essential part in the Government’s response to biodiversity decline in Aotearoa. It aims to protect, maintain and restore our indigenous biodiversity so that there is at least no overall loss.

    Appendix 5 of the NPSIB states that the purpose of a regional biodiversity strategy is to promote the landscape-scale restoration of the region’s indigenous biodiversity.

    To achieve this purpose, every regional biodiversity strategy must:

    1. set out a landscape-scale vision for the restoration of the region’s indigenous biodiversity
    2. provide for resilience to biological and environmental changes, including those associated with climate change
    3. recognise biological and physical connections within, and between, the terrestrial environment, water bodies, and the coastal marine area
    4. support the achievement of any national priorities for indigenous biodiversity protection
    5. record:
      1. the actions and methods intended to promote the maintenance and restoration of indigenous biodiversity, and increase in indigenous vegetation cover, in the region
      2. actions that will be undertaken by local or central government
      3. actions that the community, including tangata whenua, will be supported or encouraged to undertake
      4. how those actions will be resourced
    6. specify milestones for achieving the strategy’s purpose
    7. specify how progress on achieving the strategy’s purpose is to be monitored and reported on and measures to be taken if milestones are not being met.

    A regional biodiversity may also:

    1. include measures that are intended to implement other objectives, such as biosecurity, climate mitigation, amenity, or freshwater outcomes, where those measures also contribute to protection and restoration of indigenous biodiversity
    2. identify areas intended for restoration in accordance with clause 3.21
    3. identify areas in which indigenous vegetation cover is proposed to be increased, in accordance with clause 3.22.

    The following must also be taken into account when developing a regional biodiversity strategy:

    1. any National Biodiversity Strategy issued by the Department of Conservation: 46 National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity 2023
    2. opportunities to engage the community, including tangata whenua, in conservation and, in particular, to connect urban people and communities to indigenous biodiversity
    3. opportunities for partnerships with the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust, Ngā Whenua Rāhui and others
    4. incentive opportunities specific to specified Māori land
    5. co-benefits, including for water quality and freshwater habitats, carbon sequestration and hazard mitigation
    6. alignment with strategies under other legislation.


Page published: 16 Jan 2026, 11:38 AM