Air New Zealand contributes around $1.5 million annually to improve biodiversity on New Zealand's Great Walks and Marine Reserves.

Tourism is New Zealand's largest export, bringing in roughly $14.5 billion last year. With 900 native species approaching extinction and another 2800 declining or at risk, is it time for the companies that benefit from our clean-green image to start chipping in to protect it?

Tourism spending jumped 12 per cent in 2016 and foreign tourist spending was up to $14.5 billion, benefiting operators, restaurants, accommodation providers and other tourism businesses alike.

Meanwhile, all of Tourism New Zealand's $117-million-worth of activity for 2017 will be conducted under the 100% Pure New Zealand campaign.

123RF The Abel Tasman National Park is one of the most visited parks in New Zealand, and ranger Mike Ogle said he hoped future partnerships would reinstate the morning chorus.

A spokesperson says this was not a 'clean, green' campaign, but a "campaign that tells the story of landscapes, people and activities combining to deliver an 100% Pure New Zealand experience".

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Regardless of this claim, few Kiwis would deny New Zealand's biggest selling points is its environmentally pure image.

The Department of Conservation (DOC) is charged with making this persona a reality, and manages a third of New Zealand's land mass.

Currently DOC relies on an annual budget of $358 million, as well as tourism revenue from camping and hut fees, and concessions revenue from tourism operators.

But with native birdlife in decline and a recent Ministry for the Environment report showing 72 per cent of monitored native fish species are threatened with extinction — is it time for the New Zealand businesses that benefit from our natural draw-card to start chipping in?

The message is beginning to spread, with DOC director of commercial partnerships Geoff Ensor saying a​proximately $40 million had been committed to commercial partners since 2011.

Five years ago, Ensor says, DOC realised it could not continue to be the only delivery agent of conservation, and it would need to be an all-New Zealand response to address the losses in the environment.

DOC director of commercial partnerships Geoff Ensor says commercial partnerships are nothing new, but more could be done in the area.

"It was really about ensuring we supported and enabled other to be successful, and the business community are the key to that progress to turning the tide of loss to one of gain," he says.

"We are now in a place where there is a strong recognition that nature, no matter what industry you are in, nature is the foundation of our social, economic and cultural success."

Ensor says New Zealand had a chance to prove to the world you could have a thriving economy and a thriving natural environment, but goals like Predator Free 2050 would need a large proportion of Kiwi businesses to get behind conservation.

CAMERON BURNELL/FAIRFAX NZ DOC ranger Mike Ogle said the Abel Tasman will see increase in the likes of fantails, bellbirds, tuis and native robins as a result of 850 new traps funded by Air New Zealand.

DOC ranger Mike Ogle says core government funding would take the organisation so far, but the whole of New Zealand would have to get in behind the efforts for them to be successful.

"It's a huge job, and it's a long lasting job. It's something you have to do forever and a day. Eventually technology will become a lot cheaper, but if we wait for that to happen we are going to start losing stuff," Ogle says.

"There's a bit of urgency to it, and for that we need money now, and that has to come from organisations like Air New Zealand."

Canopy Tours conservation manager Gary Coker ziplines homemade rat traps into the forest during the company's first attempt at pest control in 2013.

Who has already come on board?

Ensor says contributions were coming from small and large businesses alike.

Air New Zealand is one of the companies pledging funds.

Canopy Tours employees Scott Davis, Gary Coker, Kris Gamonsway, James Fitzgerald and Shane Driscoll show the kills resulting from the first night of deploying Goodnature traps in 2015.

Teaming with DOC in 2012 and having committed support through to 2020, Air New Zealand contributes around $1.5 million annually to programmes to improve biodiversity on New Zealand's Great Walks and Marine Reserves.

"In partnership with Doc and Golden Bay's Manawhenua ki Mohua iwi collective, we committed to the northern Abel Tasman biodiversity project to restore birdlife to Totaranui in March 2016," a spokeswoman says.

With Air New Zealand funding, DOC has purchased and installed around 850 additional predator traps in the northern Abel Tasman.

Together with two other projects more than 80 per cent of the 22,530-hectare national park is now covered by trapping efforts.

Other partners include Genesis Energy, who made a five year commitment in 2016 to limit the impact of hydro stations that are situated in fast flowing rivers where whio, or blue duck, live.

These efforts seem to be working, with whio breeding pairs at eight secure sites across New Zealand increase from 299 in 2011 to 560 pairs during 2016, according to DOC figures.

Fonterra has also thrown its hat in the ring, teaming up with DOC in 2013 to improve water quality and biodiversity at five waterways in key dairying regions.

Mitre 10 and Fulton Hogan both support the Takahe Recovery Programme, which has seen the numbers living at secure sites increase from 115 to 225 birds.

Kiwibank also contributes to boosting conservation dog programmes to help find native species, and hunt pests.

A tale of success

Rotorua Canopy Tours is a ziplining company in Rotorua with 25 staff, who together have contributed to bringing nearly 250 hectares of New Zealand native forest under predator control.

Managing director James Fitzgerald says conservation efforts began in 2013, but it wasn't until 2015 that real progress was made with the creation of Goodnature auto-setting traps. The traps now span a trapping line 44kms long.

In the first week of trapping the team pulled out 800 animals over 50 hectares. The rollout of Goodnature traps increased this number to 350 animals in two nights.

"Now when we monitor the trapping lines and walk the entire network we would be lucky to find a dozen animals across the 44kms," Fitzgerald says.

"When we first went in there it was 500 hectares, pohutukawa forest, never been touched, but it was dead silence. You couldn't hear a bird in there.

"It was the awareness of what was happening in there and the slow decline that was occurring that initiated the level of commitment we made to it."

Now the morning chorus is beginning to return, and visitors will often see North Island black robins, bellbirds, tuis, and native pigeons.

In total, Fitzgerald says Canopy Tours has spent roughly $300,000, which included grants from DOC and other supporters.

"Tourism is a really cooperative industry, everyone relies on each other, so we have a lot of our supplies, like customer suppliers, hotels, motels, tour operators, who actually donate money in to be part of this as well."

The writer and videographer travelled courtesy of Air New Zealand.