What Enables Farmers to Restore Their Land?

Recent research shows that most farmers and other rural landowners in New Zealand need to see financial returns to enable native forest restoration on their land.

Commissioned by The Nature Conservancy Aotearoa New Zealand (TNC NZ) and carried out by The Bioeconomy Science Institute Maiangi Taiao, the research analysed landowner preferences, based on a survey and in-depth interviews with farmers and landowners across New Zealand.

TNC NZ Country Lead Dr. Erik van Eyndhoven says that the research is part of TNC’s work aimed at significantly expanding native restoration through making it more attractive for landowners.

“Many landowners are keen to see more natives on their properties, but many things make this difficult to make happen. We’re keen to explore what the factors are that can support landowners to participate in a significant way.”

The research report also found that some farmers valued non-monetary support, such as expert advice, more than financial incentives, Dr. van Eyndhoven says.

“In the interviews, we found most satisfied farmers describe relationships with dedicated land management officers who provide support over multiple years, rather than one-off grants. Farmers want practical field support rather than theory.”

However, the research found that across all three revegetation types—native reforestation, wetland restoration and planting on riverbanks—most landowners need to receive a financial return to participate in revegetation programmes.

Dr. van Eyndhoven says this reflects what TNC hears directly from landowners: their time, energy and financial resources are already thinly stretched.

“But we see enthusiasm in rural communities to do what they can regardless. In the Moutere catchment in Tasman District, for example, more than 200 rural landowners have taken up replanting opportunities provided by Te Tauihu Environment Trust, where they received some assistance with plants and materials but carried out the planting and maintenance themselves.”

Over 40% of survey respondents had already participated in restoration projects to some degree. Many of the farmers interviewed were seeking a balance between economic drivers and enhancing the environment. Long-term aspirations frequently centered on legacy, leaving the land “in better condition than we found it” and creating something future generations could be proud of.

The disconnect between short-term funding and the longer timeframe needed for plantings to be established creates persistent problems for landowners.

“Many interviewees expressed frustration that initial planting costs may be covered by grants, but ongoing maintenance is an unsustainable financial and labour burden. The cost of fencing off areas under restoration is a major concern.”

Dr. van Eyndhoven says farmers wanted support arrangements to have clearly defined boundaries and were concerned with loss of control and permanent restrictions on land use.

“The farmers interviewed consistently emphasised the need to keep ultimate decision-making authority over their land, resisting approaches that felt imposed, restrictive or prescriptive. The survey confirmed this: longer-term legal commitments, such as those used in carbon credit projects, reduced willingness to participate across all three revegetation types.”

The ability to generate income from land remains paramount for most, making proposals to retire productive land impractical unless there’s compensation, Dr. van Eyndhoven says. “This research will inform our work on seeking ways to finance and support restoration work, initially with the catchment-level study underway in the Tasman District, enabled by the support of the Rātā Foundation and others.”

Helena Cardenas, implementation social scientist for TNC based in Washington D.C., said that understanding what motivates landowners to participate in conservation is essential for us to find effective and practical solutions.

“This research helps us identify the incentives and programme features that matter the most to landowners, providing evidence to help us design restoration programs that are more likely to achieve lasting conservation outcomes for people and nature to thrive.”

About the research

The report, “Choice modelling for native revegetation incentives in Aotearoa New Zealand,” was prepared by Maksym Polyakov, Pamela Booth, Geoff Kaine, Peter Edwards, Robyn Kannemeyer, Yuelu Xu of Bioeconomy Science Institute Maiangi Taiao and John Bell of Sustainable Hawke’s Bay in collaboration with TNC.

The study surveyed rural landholders in New Zealand to understand what would encourage them to take part in programmes supporting native reforestation, wetland restoration and riparian planting. Participants were presented with a series of hypothetical programme options that varied in payment levels, contract length, species requirements and levels of support. For each option, they indicated whether they would participate and, if so, how much land they would enroll. By analysing these responses, the study estimated the compensation landholders require to participate and how different programme features influence both participation and the scale of enrollment.

The survey was conducted via the BSI Survey of Rural Decision Makers, and therefore the survey responses are most likely to represent the views of individual landowners. We intend to gather iwi and customary landowner perspectives via direct engagement in specific regions.