Government pledges $4.7 million to help save kauri
The Government is to inject $4.7 million into a programme to help save kauri trees threatened by a disease known as kauri dieback (Phytophthora taxon Agathis).
The five-year programme aims to contain the soil-borne disease, which is attacking kauri trees in the upper North Island and on Great Barrier Island.
"This disease is a serious biosecurity threat to kauri, a species that we as New Zealanders are duty-bound to protect," says Biosecurity Minister David Carter. "The Government's $4.7 million pledge brings total funding for the future management of kauri dieback to $9.8 million. This demonstrates the importance placed on the protection of this treasured species."
Conservation Minister Tim Groser says New Zealand's ancient kauri forests are a vital part of the ecosystem as well as being part of our heritage, and must be protected for future generations.
MAF Biosecurity New Zealand, the Department of Conservation and four regional councils - Auckland, Northland, Environment Bay of Plenty and Environment Waikato - have been working together since late last year to manage the threat of kauri dieback.
Mr Carter and Mr Groser have welcomed the collaborative approach of government agencies, regional councils and Maori in working to combat the threat.
The five-year programme will cover research into the detection and spread of kauri dieback and methods to control it. A public awareness campaign to arrest its spread will also be developed.
The problem was raised in Parliament last month by the Green Party, who called on the Government to act swiftly and definitively to save New Zealand’s kauri trees from the killer pathogen.
"Kauri rot is the Didymo of the Forest and it’s time for the Government to step up to the plate and address this threat to our heritage with urgency," Green Party Biosecurity Spokesman Kevin Hague said in a statement on the 19th of October.
The kauri rot pathogen has been in the soil for at least 10 years and attacks the foliage of kauri of all ages and stages of growth, Mr Hague said.
Kauri rot infestations have been found in Northland and Auckland. Initially it was thought that the Auckland problem was confined to Piha and the Waitakere Ranges but it is spreading into town, with many confirmed cases in Titirangi.
Symptons of kauri rot are yellowing leaves, dead branches, lesions that bleed resin over the lower two metres of the trunk. Eventually the tree dies. Kauri rot spreads through soil and can be transferred by people on the soles of their shoes, car tyres and equipment. Wild pigs and deer can spread it also.
Here are some links to pictures of healthy and affected trees:
Healthy tree: http://www.festivesearch.com/blogs/aroundtheworld/wp-content/uploads/200...
Affected trees: http://www.piha.co.nz/gfx/Kauridecline1wb.jpg This shows the canopy of an affected tree
This one shows an infected trunk: http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/files/imagecache/sample/files/pests-and-d...
