A "game changer" investment in pest eradication was announced at Zealandia in Wellington yesterday, where the Government revealed a push for the country to be predator free by 2050.
Following the announcement, Dr Andrea Byrom, director of the National Science Challenge for NZ's Biological Heritage, cited the Bay's Cape to City project as an example of how to best use the latest pest eradication technology.
"A game-changer is just what our biodiversity desperately needs," Ms Byrom said. "Over the last few years we have seen the public and private sector, individuals and communities, councils, scientists, businesspeople, schoolchildren, and thousands of committed New Zealanders coming together in a manner that is usually only seen when there is a universal threat such as war.
In fact, this situation is very analogous. There is a universal threat to our native plants and animals - and therefore to our economy and national identity - from overwhelming numbers of possums, rats, stoats, and other invaders."
Conservation Minister Maggie Barry also said Project Taranaki Mounga and Cape to City in Hawke's Bay were "great examples of what's possible when people join forces to work towards a goal not achievable by any individual alone."