Predator Free 2050 Limited

Statement of Intent

2022-2026

Amended 2 June 2023

Presented to the House of Representatives Pursuant to the Crown Entities Act 2004

Foreword

Our unique plants and animals help define New Zealand and add immeasurable value to our culture, our identity, and our wild places.

Our goal is to contribute to the New Zealand Government’s mission of eradicating possums, stoats, and rats from New Zealand by 2050. We do this by facilitating partnerships and co-funding arrangements that enable predator eradication operations, as well as driving and communicating the breakthrough science and new techniques necessary to achieve success.

From our establishment in 2016 to the present day, we have made steady progress towards our goals. Already through this mission we are seeing enhanced biodiversity and positive associated outcomes for wellbeing, jobs, regional development, and Māori leadership.

The complete eradication of possums, stoats, and rats involves a complex mix of social, technical, and financial challenges. We need to ensure they are all targeted and ensure that reinvading animals can be removed before a new population is established. Keeping the focus on what is needed to achieve eradication is crucial. As a result of this focus, the landscape projects that we fund have achieved elimination across 52,274 hectares and are now defending these areas from reinvasion. This suggests that eradication is possible in some remote, urban, and rural settings.

Predator Free 2050 Limited will continue our programme of work to support large-scale predator eradication projects that enable biodiversity gains to rapidly follow. Our efforts to support the development of new and better tools that help advance the mission more efficiently and effectively will continue. We will continue to contribute to regional development and national employment through the creation of jobs. Researchers will be supported to focus on overcoming critical obstacles to mission success, and we will continue to support our young researcher capability development.

Predator Free 2050 Limited will continue to foster collaborative and supportive relationships with all our partners, but particularly with iwi who have such a significant role in conservation leadership in Aotearoa New Zealand around the restoration of mauri and mana.

We look forward to making progress towards achieving our vision. We are committed to this important mahi and the wider benefits that the eradication of these predators will bring to Aotearoa New Zealand.

Predator Free 2050 Limited has developed a new Outcomes Framework that more clearly reflects our high-level goals, the impacts we hope to have, and what we are planning to achieve We have amended our Statement of Intent 2022-2026 to incorporate this new framework

In this context, we are pleased to present our amended Statement of Intent 2022-2026

Denise Church Chair