Key shifts in approach

Predator Free 2050 is a stretch and calls for a shift in the way we think, behave, and act for it to succeed.

From a variable Treaty Partnership to a flourishing Treaty partnership

Whānau, hapū and iwi regard broad-scale predator control as one way of restoring mauri, or life force, returning both land and culture to good health. When Māori exercise their rangatiratanga – their authority and sovereignty – Predator Free 2050 gains the potent force that is kaitiakitanga – the custodianship that nurtures the welfare of the land, and by natural extension, the people.

The Treaty Partnership shift recognises the key role that whānau, hapū and iwi play in the movement towards a Predator Free New Zealand, designing, deciding and delivering predator management projects and playing a central role in broader regional collaborations.

From separate action to collective impact

Achieving Predator Free 2050 will rely on ‘collective impact’ – a concerted effort across organisations and other groups that have national impact, which together will accomplish much more than operating in isolation.

The collective impact shift sets in train six national collaborations to develop shared agendas and guide collaborative planning, action and review.

From top-down decision making to local ownership and solutions

This shift recognises that local people need to have a say about their places. This means national organisations need to shift from supplying solutions for local communities to a supporting and facilitating role, with the local solutions emerging from the people at that place.

From a performance-driven approach to a learning-based approach

Predator Free 2050 is a world first and we don’t have all the answers. We will need to be agile and willing to adapt our thinking and behaviour as new learning, new knowledge and new ideas come to light.

From people being told to care to people’s behaviour supporting thriving native wildlife

This shift acknowledges that people and their behaviour are at the heart of Predator Free 2050. We need to be able to understand what motivates people to engage actively in the programme and build on that. Given the timeframe of the programme it is also important that we understand how to build children’s empathy and compassion for the environment while introducing in an appropriate manner, and at the right age, the need for predator control.

Society and norms will evolve over the timeframe and as these shift, Predator Free 2050 will track this and evolve accordingly, so the programme remains aligned with the society it serves.

From ongoing pest control to eradication of predators

This shift takes us from ongoing pest control, continually trying to ‘hold the line’, to coordinated and connected landscape-scale eradication of targeted predators.