Our Story
Project Vision
Taurikura whenua, ki uta ki tai
Thriving landscapes, from mountains to sea
Predator Free South Westland is a bold commitment to both ecological transformation and community resilience.
On track to become Aotearoa’s first predator-free landscape, the project is a flagship for the national Predator Free 2050 mission—restoring precious native wildlife like the kea, kōtuku/white heron, and rowi/Ōkārito brown kiwi, and giving our forests and ecosystems the best chance to thrive.
Combining local knowledge, ground-based expertise, and cutting-edge innovation, the project is not only an environmental commitment but a social and economic investment in the future of South Westland.
It supports thriving communities in Whataroa, Ōkārito, and Franz Josef by creating meaningful employment and building long-term resilience from the mountains to the sea.
Why Predator Free
Aotearoa’s biodiversity is in crisis.
Three introduced predators—possums, rats and stoats—kill 25 million native birds every year, along with untold insects, lizards, frogs, and plants.
In 2016 the Government announced New Zealand’s “moon shot”: to be Predator Free by 2050.
A Predator Free South Westland benefits:
- Wildlife & ecosystems – by enhancing the ability for nature to thrive
- Local economies – by helping eliminate bovine TB and agricultural pests, and creating jobs and nature-based tourism opportunities
- Community – by enhancing our connection to the natural world
What is elimination
Predator Free South Westland is proving elimination is possible at landscape scale on the mainland.
The term ‘elimination’ has origins in disease management, like malaria and Covid-19. In a predator-free context, elimination is achieved when possums, rats and stoats are no longer established in an area, and any that incur, are prevented from re-establishing.
In general, core zones within the project area are almost always maintained as predator-free, while surrounding buffer zones are subject to sporadic incursions.
What happens next
The project’s elimination goal is on track to be completed by the end of 2025. In the next phase we will to maintain the hard-won gains.
Securing the successes
We are continuing to work closely with the Department of Conservation. In 2025, DOC will begin funding the project’s maintenance through the Tomorrow Accord – a commitment to maintain conservation outcomes achieved through philanthropic investment.
In practical terms for Predator Free South Westland, this means: once elimination is complete, DOC provides the funding, ZIP delivers the work, and predator-free gains are protected for the long term.
Increasing the core
Looking to the future, we propose to extend the project boundary into adjacent areas to increase the size of the predator-free core zone. This will reduce the pressure on the project boundary and the associated costs of preventing reinvasion.