Posted on 18 February
2011
Wellington, New Zealand: The mutual dependence
of a colorful pigeon and some of New Zealand’s
iconic trees is at the centre of a landmark
Year of the Forests project in that country.
A project to help the
Kereru bird and native forests thrive once
more throughout New Zealand’s Wellington
region has received new funding from the
Nikau Foundation with support from the Willscott
Endowment Fund, and WWF-New Zealand in partnership
with the Tindall Foundation.
"Kereru are beautiful
birds, and their recovery is critical to
the survival of New Zealand's unique and
special forests," said Marc Slade,
Terrestrial Programme Manager at WWF-New
Zealand. "Kereru are one of the only
surviving mainland native species able to
swallow the fruit of some key forest trees,
including miro, tawa, rimu and matai. Some
of these seeds need to pass through the
gut of a bird to germinate, meaning the
health of the forests is absolutely dependent
on Kereru.
The United Nations has
designated 2011 as the International Year
of the Forests
Throughout this year,
WWF will be running a Living Forests Campaign
that will combine cutting edge science,
new perspectives from partners and decades
of on-the-ground experience to help address
the challenge of saving the world's forests.
"In the International
Year of the Forests, WWF is getting behind
this project because Kereru are the champions
of New Zealand forest recovery, they're
a keystone species and need looking after,"
Slade said.
Kick-starting the project
The organisations will
invest $10,000 in the Kereru Discovery Project
to kick-start a new phase of an existing
conservation project that aims to increase
populations of the native birds from Kapiti
Island through to the Wairarapa. In turn,
the growing numbers of Kereru will play
a critical role in restoring native forest
in the region. Today Kereru numbers are
a tiny fraction of what they once were as
a result of habitat loss and an associated
lack of food, and introduced predators such
as possums, ferrets and stoats.
The new phase of the
project will launch later this year, and
will involve local communities in helping
Kereru thrive, calling on people to plant
native trees which are food sources for
the birds in their backyards, and to volunteer
for pest control schemes.
In and around Wellington,
New Zealand 98 % of the region was once
cloaked in forest - of which only 28 % survives
today.
"As a charitable
trust that manages donors' money so that
their one gift will give in perpetuity,
the focus of Nikau Foundation is the Wellington
region. We are delighted to be able to contribute,
on behalf of our donor the Willscott Fund,
to the recovery of Kereru numbers and the
ongoing restoration of native forests in
our region," said Adrienne Bushell,
Nikau Foundation Marketing Manager.
Completing the circle
of positive effects, the project's efforts
to save native forest will help other native
birds flourish, Slade said: "By looking
after Kereru we save our forests, and by
saving our forests we're protecting the
habitat of other native species. It's an
example of how everything connects in a
cycle of life, and how conservation of species
has flow on effects to benefit whole ecosystems,"
he said.
