Under the Lens: Kauri Dieback, Where Biodiversity Intersects with Biosecurity

Episode 3: What is kauri dieback?

Kauri dieback is one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most urgent ecological challenges. In this episode, we explore how a microscopic organism met one of our most ancient taonga species and what it has taken for science, culture, and community to respond together.

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Episode Highlights

• How Phytophthora agathidicida infects kauri and moves through soil and water.

• The early discovery of kauri dieback and the rapid shift to emergency management.

• The cultural, ecological, and emotional significance of kauri as a taonga species.

• How Māori knowledge, community action, and science worked together in the response.

• What kauri dieback teaches us about biodiversity, shared responsibility, and long-term ecosystem care.

Episode Description

Kauri dieback, caused by the pathogen Phytophthora agathidicida, has reshaped how Aotearoa New Zealand understands risk, responsibility, and care for the natural world. This episode unpacks the biology of the pathogen, the cultural significance of kauri, and the long journey from confusion to coordinated response.

Our hosts revisit the early days when dead and dying kauri began raising alarms, the rapid surge in concern from communities, and the urgent scramble to understand a pathogen unlike anything researchers had dealt with before. They explore how soil, water, animals, and people move the disease, why early management had to adapt quickly, and how molecular tools reshaped what we know about this organism.

We also look at the important contributions of iwi, community groups, scientists, landowners, and volunteers who stepped into leadership roles during a time of uncertainty. The episode highlights both the complexity of the challenge and the resilience of those determined to keep kauri standing.

Meet the Hosts

Professor Amanda Black — Director, Bioprotection Aotearoa; soil scientist at Lincoln University.
Professor Peter Dearden — Co-Director, Genomics Aotearoa; geneticist at the University of Otago.
Dr Nick Waipara — Forest pathologist with Plant & Food Research Group of the Bioeconomy Science Institute, and a long-time collaborator with Te Tira Whakamātaki.

Further Reading & Show Notes

Government and Agency Resources

Tiakina Kauri | Kauri Protection
https://www.kauriprotection.co.nz/

Ministry for Primary Industries — Biosecurity and kauri dieback
https://www.mpi.govt.nz/biosecurity

Department of Conservation — Kauri dieback
https://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/pests-and-threats/diseases/kauri-disease/

Auckland Council — Kauri Dieback Programme
https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/en/environment/plants-animals/protect-trees-disease/protect-our-kauri-trees.html

Northland Regional Council — Kauri dieback
https://www.nrc.govt.nz/environment/weed-and-pest-control/biosecurity-programmes/kauri-protection/

Cultural and Mātauranga

Te Ara — Kauri
https://teara.govt.nz/en/kauri-forest/page-4

Te Kawerau ā Maki — Rāhui and kauri protection
https://tekawerau.iwi.nz/

Science and Research

Kauri Rescue — Phosphite treatment trials and community research
https://kaurirescue.org.nz/

NZ Plant Conservation Network — Agathis australis
https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/agathis-australis

WA Forest Dieback and Phytophthora cinnamomi
https://www.dbca.wa.gov.au/management/threat-management/plant-diseases/phytophthora-dieback

Key Academic References

Black, A. and Dickie, I. (2016). Independent review of the state of kauri dieback knowledge.
https://www.kauriprotection.co.nz/assets/Research-reports/Decision-support/Independent-review-of-the-state-of-kauri-dieback-knowledge-2016.pdf

Lambert, S., Waipara, N., Black, A., Mark-Shadbolt, M. and Wood, W. (2018). Indigenous Biosecurity: Māori Responses to Kauri Dieback and Myrtle Rust in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Lewis, K. et al. (2019). Land use changes influence the sporulation and survival of Phytophthora agathidicida.
https://doi.org/10.1111/efp.12502

About the Podcast

Under the Lens is a conversation series exploring how ecosystems resist, recover, and thrive across Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific.

Our Voice

Warm. Curious. Grounded.

Where This Episode Fits

This kōrero is the first major case study in our series. It shows how the ideas from earlier episodes come to life when a real ecological crisis unfolds. By exploring kauri dieback, listeners see how biosecurity, bioprotection and biodiversity intersect through science, culture and community action, setting the stage for the applied stories and emerging tools we discuss in later episodes.

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