A significant proportion of the Wanganui district falls within the regional boundaries of the Horizons Regional Council.
The way that indigenous biodiversity is managed within the Horizons area has been significantly changed through the combined regional policy statement and regional plan, the One Plan, which is now operative within the Wanganui district.
Before the One Plan became operative indigenous biodiversity was managed by district councils. Through the One Plan process the responsibility of maintaining indigenous biodiversity within the Wanganui district, and in fact the whole of the Manawatu-Wanganui region, has now been taken over by the regional council.
The approach that Horizons has taken constitutes a region-wide approach to maintaining indigenous biodiversity. This has consequences for districts such as Wanganui and Ruapehu where a significant amount of indigenous biodiversity still exists.
At a regional level, districts including Wanganui and Ruapehu have the lion's share of remaining native bush and therefore contribute a significant percentage of the total native cover remaining in the region.