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Annual reports

As the Crown Research Institute for our land environment and biodiversity we are dedicated to helping the people of Aotearoa New Zealand (AoNZ) understand and live well with our land.
Download Annual Report 2023 Part 1

Cover: Annual Report 2023 Part 1

The Manaaki Whenua Annual Report for the 2022/23 year is the second to reflect “Te Āpōpōtanga”, our organisational strategy for the coming years.

We present the report in two parts. Part 1 provides an overview of Manaaki Whenua, including highlights of our science and how we are building on our commitment, signed in June 2021, to uphold the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in our work.

In Part 2 we present our directors' report and financial statements.

Download our 2023 reports

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Accompanying Innovation Stories 2023

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Intersection between the earthflow and the stream network, showing active erosion and ready supply of sediment.

River catchment planning for future climate change

To develop effective management plans for river catchments, policymakers and catchment managers need to account for how climate change mi...

Tutaki West Branch Headwaters Wetland, Murchison area.

LiDAR reveals real risk to wetlands

For the first time in New Zealand, research has shown how remote sensing, using LiDAR, could aid improved conservation management of wetl...

Dactylanthus taylorii, or the wood rose. Image: Marti, CC BY-NC, via iNaturalist.

Core blimey: how an old Hoover revealed the secrets of a wetland

East Coast farmer Tim Brownlie and QEII National Trust regional representative for Gisborne Malcolm Rutherford have become fascinated
by ...

Arnaud Cartier checking African tulip trees reared in the insect quarantine facility

Natural enemies, natural solutions

Eight countries in the Pacific will introduce natural enemies in order to reduce the impacts of key weeds in the island nations under the...

Ferret camera trap image

Using artificial intelligence to monitor wildlife

Camera traps are used for monitoring a range of wildlife species in Aotearoa New Zealand, including native and invasive animals. These ca...

th Aerial photo of tree debris post-Cyclone Gabrielle, Hawke's Bay

Māori frameworks needed to recloak the whenua

In the wake of the devastation caused by Cyclone Gabrielle and the increasing impact of climate change, there is a call to ensure a Māori...

Principal Scientist Dr Janet Wilmshurst searches a cave near Lake Wakatipu, Otago, for ancient DNA samples. Image: Brad White.

Ancient diets revealed by kākāpō scats

Our researchers have revealed the most comprehensive analysis of prehistoric kākāpō diet ever performed.

Dr Jo Carpenter with a kakapo taken on the pest free Anchor Island th

Local extinctions of kākāpō

Kākāpō, found only in Aotearoa New Zealand, are critically endangered, flightless, nocturnal, and the heaviest parrots in the world. Kākā...

Katie O’Hagan, an honours student at the University of Canterbury, taking a soil core at the Manaaki Whenua site in Lincoln

Can mosaics of trees help to reach Aotearoa’s carbon targets?

Increasing carbon stocks in woody vegetation will be a major contribution to Aotearoa New Zealand reaching its zero-carbon emissions targ...

Central Wellington; individual trees marked in yellow

Interactive urban tree mapping in Wellington

“Bridging the gap between remote sensing and tree modelling with data science" – an exciting collaboration between New Zealand and Singap...

Map showing nitrogen-leaching susceptible soils.

S-map reaches 10 million

S-map has reached the halfway mark for mapping the farmable land area of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Titipounamu (rifleman)

Do native birds have enough to eat in mountain forests?

With native forest bird species in AoNZ under threat from introduced mammal predators such as possums, rats, and stoats, the ranges of ma...

Wilding pines in the Mackenzie District

The right tree in the right place? A major economic tree species poses major ecological threats

Radiata pine is native to North America, where it is narrowly distributed along the Californian coast, but is one of the most widely plan...

kauri grass

Northland ngāhere mapped to help kaitiakitanga efforts

Russell Forest on the east coast of Te Tai Tokerau/Northland is a diverse native ngāhere (forest). Researchers say it is an important exa...

The white flowers of kānuka trees can be seen blooming from valleys across Tairāwhiti on the East Coast of the North Island.

Giving whakamana back to Māori landowners through land science tools

A potential new kānuka industry is emerging thanks to Māori landowners partnering boldly with Manaaki Whenua to better understand their l...