$6m Government funding for Raukūmara Pae Maunga announced at iwi-led conservation symposium
- Michaela Insley
- Dec 17, 2025
- 4 min read
Raukūmara Pae Maunga has today welcomed the Government’s announcement that
it will receive $6 million over the next three years to support its large-scale (130,000
ha), indigenous-led conservation programme that is underway on Aotearoa New
Zealand’s East Coast.
Announced in Te Kaha, Bay of Plenty at a national gathering of iwi-led conservation projects,
the Kāhui Taiao Tūroa Symposium, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka commended
Raukūmara Pae Maunga on its outstanding restoration efforts over the last five years. In his
address to more than 130 iwi practitioners and conservation experts, Mr Potaka noted
Raukūmara Pae Maunga’s environmental gains through pest control and native species
protection, as well as the project generating jobs and infrastructure, and supporting iwi/hapū
aspirations.
Raukūmara Pae Maunga Governor Ora Barlow says the funding is an important contribution
towards the total investment Raukūmara Pae Maunga needs to deliver on its restoration
kaupapa, as well as Government recognition of the significance of Raukūmara to whānau,
hapu/iwi, and Aotearoa overall.
“Raukūmara is a very special forest, a hidden gem of Aotearoa, and the largest mountain to
sea native forest in the North Island. It has suffered however, through decades of
degradation from invasive pests,” said Ms Barlow.
“This funding is a long-deserved formal recognition of Raukūmara’s ecological and cultural
significance. It will support Raukūmara Pae Maunga to continue this much-needed work,
which is directly contributing to IVL (International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy)
goals of restoring unique wildlife and supporting thriving landscapes.”
“Raukūmara offers scale, remoteness, biodiversity and cultural richness, much similar to
New Zealand landscapes that are recognised as National Parks, so Raukūmara Pae
Maunga is doing the restoration work to make that future viable. What’s good for Raukūmara
is good for our people and for Aotearoa.”
Ms Barlow says that hosting the symposium on the East Coast was about sharing
Raukūmara as a national restoration success story and a place where Māori-led approaches
to conservation and development are setting direction for Aotearoa.
“This symposium is about exchanging knowledge, growing professional development and
strengthening iwi-to-iwi connections.”
She says the theme ‘Tirohanga Whānui, Tūmanako Nui – Broad Vision, Great Hope’, speaks
to the collective ambition of iwi, hapū, and Māori organisations to lead Aotearoa’s ecological
and social restoration efforts.
“It’s about a shared optimism that ecological collapse can be reversed with commitment,
innovation, and partnership.” The three-day symposium held by Raukūmara Pae Maunga with support from Save the Kiwi is being attended by iwi practitioners, rangatahi, and experts in areas such as aerial 1080, ungulate management, pest trapping networks, monitoring, mātauranga Māori, and climate advocacy.
“It’s been incredibly valuable to hear from other iwi-led conservation projects how they’re
tackling environmental issues through innovation, resilience and deep mātauranga of taiao
(nature). There’s also been a strong sense of kotahitanga. A view that combined efforts and
indigenous wisdom can unlock nature-based solutions to help our forests, rivers and oceans
thrive, not only in Aotearoa but also globally.
Ms Barlow says the next steps for Raukūmara Pae Maunga include securing long-term
funding partnerships, expanding restoration efforts across iwi-prioritised zones in the
Raukūmara, and further growing a skilled ecological workforce with clear pathways for
rangatahi leadership.
“We will continue to demonstrate how nature-based recovery can deliver economic,
environmental, and cultural outcomes for Aotearoa. The funding announced today is a
valuable recognition of our mahi, but it represents only part of the annual investment
required for Raukūmara Pae Maunga to continue operating at scale.
To maintain our successes in reversing the decline of the forest ecosystem, further resourcing is still needed to continue our restoration and conservation work using the full suite of tools available."
“Caring for the ngahere doesn’t span years, it spans generations. Kaitakitanga is not just
what we do today, but what we’re planning for in 300 years time.”
Ends
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Notes to Editor
For any queries, please contact:
Rangitahi Wharepapa E: rwharepapa@doc.govt.nz M: 0275805771
Government announcement
Photos of Raukūmara and the Symposium, please use captions and attributions for images
Video footage available
About Raukūmara Pae Maunga:
Established in 2020, the project is a partnership between Ngāti Porou, Te-Whānau-ā-Apanui
and the Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai delivering large-scale pest control,
forest regeneration, community engagement, and species protection.
Te Raukūmara holds cultural, historical, and spiritual significance for both Ngāti Porou and
Te Whānau-ā-Apanui. Te Raukūmara is the only large forest in the North Island that
stretches uninterrupted from the mountains to the sea (Ki uta ki tai). The health of its rivers
and land reflects the mauri of the ngahere – now in a critical state of decline after decades of
cumulative pest damage. Restoring Te Raukūmara is not only about protecting biodiversity,
but also about upholding the mana and legacy of those who whakapapa to her.
The Raukūmara Pae Maunga kaupapa was born when iwi raised alarm at the rapid decline
of the mana and mauri of the ngahere. Following a unified call to action, the project received
Jobs for Nature funding in 2020 to undertake large-scale pest control operations.
The establishment of Raukūmara Pae Maunga led to the creation of 37 jobs for ngā uri of Te
Raukūmara in the conservation space – with 28 currently employed today.
Other significant outcomes of this project to date include:
• 10,377 deer and 2033 goats culled across 74,000 hectares – the largest deer control
operation in the North Island, and largest indigenous-led culling operation in the
country.
• 116,000 hectares of Aerial 1080 applied. The largest aerial operation in the North
Island, and largest indigenous-led aerial 1080 operation in the country.
• Pre and post Aerial 1080 operation demonstrated rats were temporarily reduced to
undetectable levels and an initial average of 73% knock down of possums.
• The establishment of intensive sites with trapping and monitoring covering an area of
2909 hectares, and
• The planting of over 15,000 native trees.
