The threat of climate change is an epochal moment in world history that requires a response commensurate to the Marshall Plan that helped rebuild Europe after the Second World War. 

There has been much discussion of creating a global Green New Deal to address the huge societal changes required to address climate change and other pressing environmental issues. Anthropogenic activities have put a lot of pressure on natural and semi-natural ecosystems across the world, where the normal functioning of these ecosystems has been damaged resulting in loss of habitat and biodiversity and other ecosystem functions from which societies normally benefit such as flood risk mitigation. Habitat restoration is one of the most cost-effective strategies available to revert the damage caused, with the additional benefit that healthy ecosystems such as peatlands and forests can also help mitigate climate change by sequestering and storing large amounts of carbon 

Kaitiaki Consulting Limited has been set up to help address and facilitate these changes.  

Under current climate change projections, climate change will impact billions of people by 2100, with millions of species threatened with extinction in addition to those that have already been lost. Our failure to act now will also condemn the futures of many millions of people and will become a stark legacy for future generations. 

The UK and New Zealand are setting ambitious targets for reaching net-zero emissions. The current challenge ahead requires more than decarbonising the economy and a combination of widespread societal, cultural and industrial changes will be required for the sequestration of greenhouse gases already released into the atmosphere.  

Natural habitats provide a range of ecosystem services to society, as well as a thriving environment for biodiversity. Peatlands and grasslands can reduce the impacts of extreme weather by reducing the risk of flooding and erosion, as well as providing raw materials for fibres and animal fodder, and places of tranquillity or inspiration for artists. Coastal dunes and estuaries provide a buffer against sea level rise and storm surges, as well as refuge for rare specialist species. Additionally, habitats such as peatlands and forests can act as carbon sinks due to their large potential for carbon storage and sequestration, an invaluable tool in climate change mitigation strategies. 

Kaitiaki Consulting will work to help organisations promote and implement climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as habitat conservation strategies that maximise biodiversity and the decarbonisation of society. We will also help to restore damaged habitats and protect soils to revert the impairment and loss of essential ecosystem functions that are key to carbon storage in natural habitats. 

This large-scale transformation of land use will have huge benefits for the United Kingdom:

• It will help to address the climate crisis while protecting habitats suffering from declining biodiversity.
• It will provide further green spaces for recreation and exploration, with proven physical and mental health benefits to society
• Extensive investment in ecological restoration increases the number of job opportunities and revitalises regional economies, especially in rural areas, many of which have experienced long-term economic stagnation.
• It will see the return of the once magnificent ancient forest of Caledon 

"We have three choices: mitigation, adaptation, and suffering. We are going to do some of each. The question is what the mix is going to be. The more mitigation we do, the less adaptation will be required and the less suffering there will be.”   – John Holdren, US Office of Science and Technology Policy