The costs of single species programmes and the budget constraint

Despite the scarcity of funding for species conservation programmes, estimation of the cost of threatened species programmes occurs in only a few countries. This paper examines the reasons for the lack of species programme cost estimates and the likely impacts of this on conservation management. We report methodology used to estimate cost for eleven New Zealand species programmes and their estimated costs over a ten year period. Differences between species in the costs of the programmes and the breakdown of the costs are highlighted. The estimated costs are compared with expected levels of expenditure on each species to illustrate the existence of a budget constraint for threatened species. The likely effects of cost of species conservation exceeding expenditures on species conservation are examined. Annual cost data is used together with information on rate of conservation progress to estimate time and total cost for each species to reach Not Threatened status.