A forestry leader is calling on the country and the industry to more proactively defend its environmental record.
Following last week's mix-up that saw Conservation International mistakenly claim New Zealand was second on its list of deforestation "hotspots", instead of 22nd, Forest Industry Contractors Association chief executive John Stulen said
New Zealanders failed to check the facts and "vigourously defend our rightful green reputation".
He claimed the error did not match this country's long-standing, proactive approach towards sustainable forestry and could have damaged New Zealand's green reputation.
"The New Zealand forest industry has been recognise among its peers globally as being ahead of the game on protecting native forestry."
He pointed to the high number of government officials employed in conservation, environment and forestry departments as evidence of this, but said none of them were proactive in defending New Zealand's conservation efforts.
"Not one government department or minister of Parliament picked up on the slur, investigated the facts or called for a retraction from the originator."
Stulen also noted there had been no widely publicised retraction of the original, offending statement.
"Conservation International wrongfully slammed New Zealand as the second-highest destruction of wildlife habitat and the only kick back came from one forestry group, the New Zealand Institute of Forestry."
He pointed to the 1991 Forest Accord agreement between the industry and environmental groups as an example of how New Zealand recognises the importance of sustainable forestry.
