Four hundred jobs are expected to be created after the Government allocated a portion of its established $1.2 billion Jobs for Nature fund, with the aim for temporary employment in ecology, restoration, trapping, pest control, fencing and project management.
Conservation Minister Kiri Allan announced the $34 million allocation on the Kāpiti Coast, north of Wellington, with the funding able to be accessed by conservation groups and landowners to employ temporary staff and contractors.
Eighteen million dollars would be available to go towards groups of private landowners to protect and restore rare habitats on their properties.
"We know many farmers value and are active in managing biodiversity on their farms, and this fund provides the opportunity to support groups of landowners to expand biodiversity projects while also providing jobs," Allan said.
Another $16 million was for supporting community-led conservation projects on public and private land.
“This approach will provide established community groups with grants to scale up their projects and employ local people to achieve more and take their conservation goals to the next level," she said.
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