The Tuku Nature Reserve is the only nature reserve on the 'main' Chatham Island. The 1,239 hectare area has a diversity of habitats and is a key site for conservation of Chatham Island' endemic ecosystems, flora and fauna such as the endangered Taiko.#160;Most of the reserve is covered in forest dominated by Dracophyllum, Kopi, karamu, hoho, matipo and tree ferns.

The Chatham Islands sit on the Chatham Rise, a large, relatively shallowly submerged (no more than 1,000 metres deep)#160;reach of the Zealandia continent. The Chatham Islands are 800 kilometres east of New Zealand's South Island in the Pacific Ocean. The islands are generally hilly with the coasts a varied mixture including cliffs and sand dunes, beaches and lagoons. Chatham and Pitt are the only inhabited islands, with the remaining smaller islands being conservation reserves with access restricted or prohibited. The livelihoods of the inhabitants depend mainly on agriculture, fishing and tourism.