Kauri conservationists in Northland fear funding from Budget 2021 is nowhere near enough to protect the native tree from disease.
Twenty-eight million dollars has been allocated for to fight dieback - a phenomenon first spotted our forests in the 1970s.
Iwi and grassroots conservationists fear bureaucracy will quickly hoover up that funding and want mahi on the ground prioritised.
RNZ Te Tai Tokerau reporter Sam Olley explains.
