Tightening up on farm-to-forestry conversions

Matanui Station, along with Huiarua Station, was sold last August to Ingka Group which intends to harvest forestry there as a “hedge” against the global market of wood. Ingka Group’s core business is IKEA Retail, the world’s largest home furnishing retailer. File picture

Forestry  Minister Peeni Henare says changes about getting the right tree in the right place

The Government is tightening up rules on farm-to-forestry conversions by giving communities greater control over the planting of forests.

Forestry Minister Peeni Henare said the changes were about getting the right tree in the right place, by seeing fewer pine forests planted on farmland and more on less productive land.

The move follows a huge outcry over the sales last year of Huiarua and Matanui sheep and beef stations on the East Coast to forestry.

Former Federated Farmers provincial president Toby Williams, who tried hard to get Government to save Huiarua and Matanui, said this was a great step in the right direction.

“We have been asking for limits like this to be brought in to level the playing field for a number of years.

“It is a shame that it has taken the storms to finally get it over the line. But it’s better late than never,” Mr Williams said.

“Too late for Huiarua and Matanui, but nevertheless this will make it much harder for similar farms to be wholesale converted into the future.”

Minister Henare said the move will empower local councils to decide which land can be used for plantation and carbon forests through the resource consent process.

“This gets the balance right by giving communities a voice, while not restricting the purchasing of land or ability for farmers to choose to sell their farms to whomever they want,” Mr Henare said.

“Amendments to the National Environmental Standards for Plantation Forestry will see the environmental effects of permanent pine forests being managed the same way as plantation forests.

“This means many standards such as ensuring firebreaks, rules planting next to rivers, lakes and wetlands will now be required for any new forestry conversions,” he said.

The changes follow extensive public consultation on the national direction for plantation and exotic carbon afforestation last year.

Minister for Rural Communities Kieran McAnulty said the Government has heard and acted on the real concerns, “especially from regions such as Tairāwhiti, Wairoa and the Tararua District, about the scale of exotic carbon forestry happening and the potential impact to the environment and on rural communities”.

“Everyone accepts we need to plant trees.

“The concern is that blanket planting of productive land is counterproductive. This change will assist communities to ensure that the right type and scale of forests are planted in the right place,” he said.

“Local communities, through their councils, will determine the location and the extent that carbon forestry can occur.”

Mr Henare said the forestry sector was important to local economies, contributing over $6.5 billion annually and providing over 35,000 jobs.

“It’s also important for the environment and meeting our emissions budgets and targets.

“Afforestation provides sequestration to offset gross emissions, bioenergy to support a low carbon transition and substitution for higher carbon materials.

“However, large-scale change in land use for exotic carbon forestry, if left unchecked and without any management oversight or requirements, has the potential for unintended impacts on the environment, rural communities, and regional economies.

“The devastation that unfolded in Te Tairāwhiti during Cyclone Gabrielle was a stark reminder of what can happen if we get land-use settings wrong,” Mr Henare said.

“Today’s changes help us towards addressing the findings and recommendations in the recent Ministerial Inquiry into Land Use.

“For example, the proposal to enable councils to have more stringent rules for afforestation will clarify their ability to make plans and rules to control the extent and location of plantation and exotic continuous-cover forestry within their communities.

“Operational changes proposed to the forestry standards regarding slash provisions, sediment control and harvest management plans will start to improve the environmental impacts of forestry.

“The Government is also progressing further work to redesign the permanent forest category with a goal of enabling a successful transition from exotic species to indigenous forests,” Mr Henare said.

Gisborne-Wairoa Federated Farmers president Hunaara Waerehu was pleased with the announcement.

“This is a good day for our rural and farming communities across Te Tairāwhiti, Wairoa and throughout the motu.

“The announcement is the right step forward to limit the mass conversion of productive pastoral whenua to wall-to-wall pine forests.

“Our rohe (region) depends on both farming and forestry, but we need to strike a balance to ensure the future of both industries.

“We simply cannot have good productive land being turned to wall-to-wall pine forests at the detriment of our small rural communities as well as our farming whānau.

“So having the right rules put into place is hugely welcomed. For the future of our region this can only be a positive.”