Backs to wall at conservation causes

Charitable trusts appear to be at breaking point as they struggle to secure funding, and an estimated 10,000 could close within the next three years as a result of Covid-19.

In particular, conservation trusts that relied on tourism companies to partner with them are hurting.

Fiordland Conservation Trust may have to downsize its Kids Restore the Kepler programme, which works with schools in Fiordland to teach students about conservation and predator control, after losing its patron.

The trust’s partnership with the Fiordland Outdoors Company originally represented a $30,000 annual investment. It’s not the only partner they have lost in recent months.

Trust chairman Murray Willans said six private investors had ceased or limited their support and the trust was battling to stay open.

It is now looking for funding support through government agencies such as the Ministry of Education and the Department of Conservation along with philanthropic charities such as the Tindall Foundation.

Tourism businesses had close links with conservation and often wanted to be involved as their work was in nature, Willans said.

Fiordland Outdoors Company general manager Christine Wallace said that when the Fiordland floods hit in February it lost weeks of work and that was before the Covid-19 lockdown.

Given the rough year, it had to focus on the core business to keep it alive, Wallace said.

Despite not being able to financially commit to the trust, it had still offered its boat to set traps for predator control work on Coal Island and helped out where it could, she said.

Mo¯ hua Charitable Trust chairman Nigel Babbage believes charitable trusts are at breaking point in the current climate.

There are roughly 26,000 charitable trusts in New Zealand and 10,000 of those could be gone within three years, he said.

While they were looking to secure funding through other avenues, there was no doubt they would have to tighten the belt.

The Christchurch-based trust had a lot of projects within Southland including Fiordland, Catlins and Codfish Island/Whenua Hou. Many could be lost if they could not secure funding, he said.

Six private investors have ceased or limited their support for the Fiordland Conservation Trust.