The National Wilding Conifer Control Programme was established in 2016 to ensure a collaborative, coordinated and effective approach to national wilding management. It includes central and local government agencies, and is supported by a wide range of people and organisations.
The National Wilding Conifer Control Programme is a truly collaborative initiative.
The government funds the Programme (through Biosecurity New Zealand, part of the Ministry for Primary Industries) to deliver control operations and provide national coordination of wilding conifer management. Other partners also contribute (see below).
A core team within Biosecurity New Zealand works day to day with the other partners around the country on all aspects of improving wilding conifer management. As set out in the national strategy, this includes work on:
Funding for control operations is distributed to regional partners – regional or district councils, as listed below. They work with local contractors and community Trusts to plan and deliver control operations, and update the national database.
Find out how the wilding control operations are organised.
Since 2016, $150 million has been allocated from the government through the national programme. From July 2024, there is ongoing baseline funding of $10 million each year.
In addition to this, another $33.35 million has been contributed from other partners (see who is involved). This includes two contributions from International Visitor Levy conservation funding ($7 million in 2023/24, and $3.35 million in 2024/25).
Added to this are many hundreds of volunteer hours, and control work carried out by landowners, farmers and the forestry industry every year, but not recorded through the national programme.
The national wilding conifer management strategy sets out criteria for deciding where control operations funded through the National Programme should be spent.
The main priorities are:
Other factors are also considered such as:
Prioritisation of funding for control work is always needed because funding is always limited. The Programme partners have to decide where work is most needed and will get the best results.
The highest priority areas are agreed each year through a collaborative process and based on the latest information from each region. This is done jointly by the team at Biosecurity New Zealand, the partner councils and the Operational Advisory Group. The final decisions are agreed by the Governance Group.
Since 2016, around 80% of the total known infestation area nationally has received at least one round of control work.
Repeat control and ongoing maintenance round are still needed to remove new growth from seeds already in the ground). All the progress achieved means we are now preparing to start transitioning the first areas to local management, having removed infestations and done follow up control to remove emerging seedlings.
The programme partners have also built the technical capability, workforce, systems and data tools to help achieve the aims of the National Wilding Conifer Management Strategy.
The programme has been shown to give outstanding return on investment. Independent economic analysis estimates an overall benefit-cost ratio of between 20:1 and 34:1 for every dollar invested in controlling wilding infestations and preventing the spread.
However there is still at least a million hectares of land already infested with wilding conifers that is not yet being treated, and still spreading onto vulnerable land. To see how you can help prevent the spread, visit the Controlling Wilding Pines page.
Active Management Units (see where control operations are or have been undertaken)
A core team within Biosecurity New Zealand (part of the Ministry for Primary Industries) works day to day with the other partners around the country to deliver all the parts of the National Programme.
Within each region, operations and local connections are led by regional or district councils. They work with their local community on priorities, and contact local contractors and community Trusts to plan and deliver control work.
That's just the start - there are hundreds of people involved in various ways around the country.
The programme's governance group involves four Crown agencies, as well as representatives from community trusts and regional councils involved in wilding conifer control. They are:
Wilding control operations funded by the National Wilding Conifer Control Programme are managed locally through Regional Councils or Unitary Authorities. They are responsible for managing local pests according to their regional pest management plans, and working with mana whenua and local communities on what is important. Councils work closely with the national programme team and local contractors to plan and carry out wilding control work within their region.
The Programme involves partners in a number of advisory groups. These include:
A wide range of individuals and groups are working together to manage wilding conifer infestations. They include:
