Background
North Island Brown Kiwi
New Zealand's wild indigenous species and the natural habitats on which they depend are in a very precarious state. The impacts of humans - both the Polynesian immigrants and the later European settlers - have had devastating effects. Forests and wetlands were cleared and drained. Fire, weeds and pollution changed the character of natural landscapes for ever. Introduced species like the possum, stoats, deer, trout and different kinds of rats brought havoc to vulnerable native species. Hunting by both Maori and non-Maori brought drastic losses before limits and controls came to be understood.
Today New Zealand has a very high proportion of endangered native species, and major management problems with pest control and restoration of natural habitats. For most bird species and many plant resources, there can be no potential for any level of sustainable use in the foreseeable future.