Avi Holzapfel

He completed his doctorate on New Zealand’s Dactylanthus (the wood rose) at Berlin and Waikato Universities, putting his own permanent roots down in this country in the mid-1990s.  

Avi became the Department of Conservation’s national Kiwi Recovery Group leader in mid-2007.  Kiwi recovery, he says, is an complex and challenging undertaking that brings together a wide range of projects, agencies and iwi, communities and individuals, skills, technologies and aspirations.  His job is to make sure these elements are co-ordinated and complementary, all heading in the same direction.

‘What we’re aiming toward is for none of the kiwi species to be directly threatened with extinction and to have all of them back as a normal part of New Zealand’s forests.’

Very much in kiwi’s favour is their high public profile and the great enthusiasm to save them. ‘That presents a huge opportunity. Not only that, for several species and situations we now know what to do and how do it. We have some critical technology available and are developing new tools and trapping regimes to combat the many threats.  Where we have management in place, populations are increasing – such success is very encouraging.

Why Kiwi?

Avi is no newcomer to recovery groups and enjoys the planning and co-ordination role – he led the Department of Conservation’s Dactylanthus (wood rose) and native frog recovery groups for several years and is also a member of the brown teal/pāteke recovery group. Working with kiwi has been a steep learning curve and a fantastic opportunity and challenge.  ‘This group is very well set up with good resources and expertise, and it’s great to play a part in helping to maintain and move it forward.’

High Point

Completing the re-draft of the Kiwi Recovery Plan 2008–2018 has been the high point of Avi’s job so far.  ‘It reflects both the feasibility and the ambition for kiwi recovery,’ he says.  While planning is only a small part of kiwi recovery, without a clear roadmap it is difficult to co-ordinate all the varied efforts and have everyone moving in the same direction.  ‘It gives everyone within and outside the Department an understanding of where they fit, and how the new ideas slot in.’

Low Point

Avi struggles to name a low point, though one concern is simply the size and complexity of the task, and how much more there is to learn.  ‘We don’t know what we don’t know, and that can make things feel a bit vulnerable, but we are learning all the time and open to new ideas.’

Thoughts for the future

Avi says the future depends on coming up with sustainable ways of managing kiwi over large areas, and in the long term. ‘We cannot rest on the achievements since kiwi recovery work began in earnest. We need to maintain the momentum, building the skills and developing new technologies that allow us to work smarter if we are going to successfully implement the Kiwi Recovery Plan over the next 10 years.

Also vital is to understand and fulfil the role of a recovery group. ‘If we tried to manage and implement every aspect of kiwi recovery we would become a huge bottleneck.  We need to find the right balance between encouraging national consistency and still recognising the need for local decision-making to meet local needs.

‘Our responsibility is to deliver things that operate at a national scale, and to advise, support and review what happens at a regional and local scale.  We don’t make those decisions for others.’