An alliance of councils, iwi, and the Department of Conservation in the top of the South Island who plan to work collectively to restore natural landscapes across the region - from west to east and from the mountains to the sea.
Kotahitanga mō te Taiao Alliance includes Buller, Tasman, Nelson, Marlborough and Kaikōura councils, the West Coast Regional Council, a number of iwi and DOC.
A dawn blessing was held in Nelson launched the Alliance and the strategy for achieving significant conservation gains across the top of the South Island.
Mayor John Leggett says like other regions Marlborough's indigenous biodiversity is fragile with species at the brink of extinction and ecosystems in a state of collapse. A new approach is urgently needed, he said.
This strategy, pooling resources and expertise to tackle some agreed targets, makes so much more sense than continuing to work in isolation on our own patches. This way we should be able to make some real progress.
The Alliance will provide environmental leadership and coordination, working together and with others to protect and enhance the wider region's diverse natural landscapes. Our landscapes include vast areas of beech forest, eastern dryland, alpine hinterland, the Marlborough Sounds, freshwater catchments and varied marine environments. Hundreds of native plant and animal species live here, including some unique to the region.
