Business backing keeps DOC on track

Momorangi Bay, on Queen Charlotte Drive, is the location of a partnership between Kathmandu and the Department of Conservation.

Commercial input from high-profile businesses is helping to protect and preserve more of New Zealand's assets than the Department of Conservation can do on its own.

DOC commercial partnership unit member David Ross said partnerships with businesses were a way the department could operate outside its normal budget, but they didn't mean DOC had fewer resources.

"Conservation is a big task, a big part of New Zealand, too big and important to be left to DOC itself. Partnerships are about engaging and working with other people, not about saying 'we don't have enough money'."

Commercial partnerships were not new, Ross said. The kakapo recovery programme partnership with New Zealand Aluminium Smelters dates back to 1990.

DOC had working relationships with many businesses, such as outdoor pursuits company Kathmandu which supplied equipment, and commercial partnerships often developed from these, Ross said.

"It's quite an organic process," he said. "We don't sit here with a list of companies making cold calls."

Kathmandu is one of two partners in Marlborough, working with the Marlborough Sounds Restoration Trust, mainly in the Momorangi area. The deal is worth $25,000 per year for three years with a review.

"Camping is a key part of their business and so it was natural for them to get involved in something like this," Ross said.

"We have a programme of conservation planned for Momorangi and as it develops there will be signs and Kathmandu will have opportunities to engage with the public on site. There's also media recognition and Kathmandu communicates with its customers through newsletters and its staff."

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Business backing keeps DOC on track