Consultancy Services

We provide specialist consulting services to the business community, designing, implementing and analysing surveys for bats nationwide and suggesting practical and affordable mitigation options. Previous projects include quarry expansions, sand removal operations, airport redevelopments and wind-energy facilities. We are experienced negotiators with excellent relationships with regulatory authorities. 

Past projects include extensions to three quarries, an airport redevelopment, a sand extraction project, the flooding of a valley to form an irrigation dam, and the building of a major wind energy facility. In all cases there was potential for bats to be affected but through engagement with local authorities and conservation agencies mitigation plans were developed that minimised harm to the animals and ensured the relevant consents were issued. Where bats are not the only species affected, we partner with Kessels and Associates.

Consultancy services are led by Professor Stuart Parsons, an internationally recognised expert on bats. Stuart has conducted research in countries such as China, Japan, Thailand, Taiwan, Croatia, UK, South Africa and Belize. In addition to his consulting work, he is a Professor at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Auckland. Stuart hold a PhD from the University of Otago, has published more than 70 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals, edited two books, and contributed to chapters in a further 9 books. He is currently an associate editor for the scientific journals ACTA Chiropterologica and Wildlife Research. He is also an external member of the New Zealand Department of Conservation's Bat Recovery Group and Species Threat Classification Committee (Bats), and a member of the IUCN Bat Specialist Group.