Government putting rules around forestry conversions - finally delivering on first 2020 promise

Forestry Minister Peeni Henare announced the changes this morning. Photo / George Heard

The Government is delivering on the first promise it made during the 2020 election campaign: rules to tighten up the conversion of farmland to forestry.

The Government said this morning it will amend the National Environmental Standards for Plantation Forestry so the environmental effects of permanent pine forests will be managed in the same way as plantation forests.

Rural communities have recently raised concerns about the conversion of productive land to permanent carbon forestry, driven by a high Emissions Trading Scheme price.

Forestry Minister Peeni Henare said the changes would deliver on that 2020 commitment, “giving communities greater control over the planting of forests”.

“These changes are about getting the right tree in the right place, by seeing fewer pine forests planted on farmland and more on less productive land,” Henare said.

“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.

“The amendments to the National Environmental Standards for Plantation Forestry are part of a suite of work this Government has undertaken to ensure the forestry sector grows in a way that is productive, sustainable and inclusive and helps build a high-value, high-wage and low-emissions future for New Zealand,” Henare said.

“These include reviewing the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme to assess if changes are needed to provide a stronger incentive for businesses to transition away from fossil fuels, while also supporting forestry.”

He said the changes would allow councils to “decide which land can be used for plantation and carbon forests through the resource consent process”.

The changes were made after “extensive public consultation on the national direction for plantation and exotic carbon afforestation last year”.

Kieran McAnulty, who proposed the original policy on the campaign trail, said the Government had “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.

McAnulty said the devastation caused by forestry slash after Cyclone Gabrielle “was a stark reminder what can happen if we get land-use settings wrong”.

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