QEII National Trust
The QEII National Trust is a statutory organisation, independent from government, which was established in 1977 under the Queen Elizabeth the Second National Trust Act 1977.
The QEII National Trust was established at the request of New Zealand farmers to protect open space on private land for the benefit and enjoyment of the present and future generations of New Zealanders.
A covenant is generally requested by the landowner and registered against the title of the land in perpetuity. The values of each covenant are identified in the covenant document. Each registered covenant is monitored every two years to ensure the land is managed in accordance with the covenant document. More than 95 per cent of covenant owners meet or exceed covenanting requirements with a resulting increase in biodiversity and sustainability of land and resources.
Over the past 10 years, landowners have increasingly recognised a QEII covenant as a mechanism to protect areas of land they value. Councils see QEII covenants as a cost-effective method to manage and improve biodiversity in their regions.
The QEII National Trust generally contributes to the cost of fencing, surveying and registration on the title, often with the help of local or regional councils or conservation groups.
Some of New Zealand’s most endangered species find refuge in QEII National Trust covenanted areas. For example, 51 QEII National Trust covenants are home to at least one of the native indicator species used to report on biodiversity.
Occurence of five native indicator species in QEII National trust covenants, 2007
| Species | Number of covenants where species is present | Total area (hectares) of covenants where species is present |
|---|---|---|
Kiwi (North Island brown) |
38 |
2,329 |
Kākā |
10 |
339 |
Wrybill |
1 |
1 |
Mōhua |
1 |
8 |
Dactylanthus |
1 |
39 |
Total |
51 |
2,716 |
Data source: QEII National Trust.
This information has come from the latest national state of the environment report Environment New Zealand 2007.
Return to native land cover with legal protection page.
Last updated: December 2007
