By Matthew Littlewood
As part of the Government’s Jobs for Nature programme, Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) is funding three projects in river catchments across South Canterbury focussing on pest and weed control, and habitat restoration, Land Information Minister Damien O’Connor announced on Friday.
The Department of Conservation will support LINZ with the delivery of the projects.
O’Connor said it was a ‘’very significant programme of work which will be a win-win for the local economy and the environment”.
The largest of these investments is in Te Manahuna Aoraki project in the upper Mackenzie Basin where up to $12 million will be spent improving the habitat of some of the country’s most fragile plants and animals over four years.
The multi-agency project, in progress since late 2018, has the aspiration of turning the Mackenzie Basin into a predator-free zone by 2040.
