Conservation Minister Maggie Barry has rejected assertions that DoC is underfunded. A major environmental group wants to see more money for conservation funding amid Thursday's Budget announcements, as newly released data shows more of New Zealand's species are faring worse. But the Environmental Defence Society (EDS) said higher baseline funding for the Department of Conservation was needed to help reverse the overall trend of biodiversity decline. "In the last eight years, we've put in an extra $90 million into DoC's baseline funding," she told TVNZ's Q&A programme yesterday. The Green Party has released documents showing the threat classification of 142 species, including some bird species, has worsened since 2008.

Source: New Zealand Herald May 22, 2016 11:33 UTC