Protecting Country Against Invasive Species — Indigenous Ranger-Led Control (Northern Australia)
Australia
Australia's Indigenous Rangers Program funds 40+ ranger groups across northern Australia to control feral pigs, cats and invasive weeds like …
Good practice
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New Zealand National Wilding Conifer Control Programme
New Zealand · Wellington · See the New Zealand profile
National programme paying contractors to eliminate invasive wilding conifers from ~180,000 ha/year; wilding conifers remove up to 40% of catchment water. NZD 175m invested since 2015; Budget 2026 allocates a further NZD 79m. Independent CBA: NZD 30 return per dollar spent.
~180,000 ha/yr
Area treated annually
NZD 175m
Public investment since 2015 (2015-2024)
NZD 79m
Additional Budget 2026 funding (2026)
NZD 30 per NZD 1
Cost-benefit ratio (independent CBA)
Details
- Maturity
- Scaling
- Promoter
- New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI)
- Period
- 2015–ongoing
- Keywords
- biosecurity, invasive species, watershed management, fire prevention, native biodiversity
Context
New Zealand's National Wilding Conifer Control Programme, run by the Ministry for Primary Industries, pays contractors to remove self-seeded invasive conifers that can intercept up to 40% of a catchment's water.
Results
Around 180,000 ha are treated each year; NZD 175m has been invested since 2015 with a further NZD 79m added in Budget 2026, and an independent cost-benefit analysis estimates a return of NZD 30 per dollar invested.
Implementation
Implementation detail (cost, timeline, staffing, conditions for success) is not yet available for this practice.
Data sources
Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.
- C-NAPSE web research — accessed 2026-06-22
- New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) — accessed 2026-06-22
- National Wilding Conifer Programme (wildingpines.nz) — accessed 2026-06-22
- MPI Programme Page — accessed 2026-06-22
- Budget 2026: NZD 79m boost (NZ Herald) — accessed 2026-06-22
- MPI Cost-Benefit Analysis Phase 2 (PDF) — accessed 2026-06-22
- Beehive: 1.4m ha in two years — accessed 2026-06-22
Attachments
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