Welcome and kia ora to our initiative. Site being developed as of Dec 2017.
Biodiversity is the variety of life on earth comprising all plants and animals and the ecosystems that support them.
Biodiversity forms the foundation of the vast array of ecosystem services that critically contribute to human well being.
“It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living.”
― Sir David Attenborough
The Aspiring Biodiversity Trust intends to protect, restore and enhance indigenous biodiversity whilst raising awareness of the importance of the natural world ~ connecting people with nature.
Our current projects focus on the Makarora/Makarore and Wilkin/Otanenui Catchment from “Ridge to River” (Part of Tititea Mt Aspiring National Park), its diverse habitats and the threatened species it supports (Makarora Catchment Threatened Species Plan). Refer to overview for further details.
The Makarora Catchment and its associated tributaries (Rivers the Blue, Young and Wilkin) encompass a plethora of threatened species of conservation concern within a diverse assemblage of important habitats unique to New Zealand.
The habitats and species associations within this environment include; braided river as essential breeding sites for endemic wrybill, black-billed gull, black-fronted tern and banded dotterel. Below, is the first 2017/2018 wrybill fledgling (a vulnerable threatened species endemic to New Zealand which is dependant on braided river habitat to complete its life cycle) identified from ABT’s braided river bird monitoring programme for Makarora River (Dec 2017).
The pristine rivers of the Blue, the Young, the Wilkin and Siberia for whio/blue duck. The alpine habitat of the Southern Alps/ Kā Tiritiri o te Moana as core territory for rock wren and kea. The diverse beech/podocarp forest for kaka, mohua and long-tailed bat.
These species need our help and the help of future generations.
” Biodiversity and ecosystems – NATURE – is the infrastructure that supports life on planet earth.”
― Dr Cristiana Pasca Palmer UN Convention on Biological Diversity (2018)
ABT’s threat management/ invasive predator control programmes and species monitoring are focused on locations of identified remnant threatened species populations and collectively extends into connecting habitats.
The persistance of indigenous biodiversity is an indication of ecosystem health, recognising the inter-connectedness of land, water and the community (ki uta ki tai – the Ngāi Tahu whole system approach).
Thank you for visiting!
River Storey Awards Semi-Finalist 2021
All text and images by Aspiring Biodiversity Trust unless specified. ABT ©
