Natural Heritage Fund

Council supports community environmental projects through the Natural Heritage Partnership Programme (NHPP). This programme comprises three separate contestable funds:

• the Natural Heritage Fund (NHF);
• the Environmental Initiatives Fund (EIF); and
• the Small Scale Community Initiatives Fund (SSCIF).

Waikato Regional Council’s Natural Heritage Fund was established in 2005 to protect and manage, in perpetuity, special places of ecological significance. Key priorities include the preservation of access to waterways and the coast, as well as protection of biodiversity, heritage sites and landscapes of significance to the community. Natural heritage projects have very long term, inter-generational benefits.

To date, the Natural Heritage Fund has been used for a wide range of projects including Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust, Waipa peat lakes reserves and the purchase of the Ed Hillary Hope Reserve.

In keeping with the significance and size of these projects, we’ve recognised that the level of accountability, monitoring and reporting will increase with the size of the grants.

Waikato Regional Council welcomes the opportunity to discuss potential Natural Heritage Fund proposals with community groups.

Please email nhf@waikatoregion.govt.nz for further information.

Waikato Regional Council and Trust Waikato have collaborated on research to inform the discussion around the challenges and opportunities facing the community-based environmental sector in the Waikato. The report of this research is attached below. It covers:

• national and international funding for the community based environmental sector, and
• perceptions of environmental community sector groups in the region regarding their needs, opportunities for collaboration , coordination, and capacity.