Forestry 'must lift profile'

The principal technologist at Scion has said the forestry industry is a great asset to New Zealand's economy - and the environment.

Rotorua may be the heart of New Zealand's forestry business, but Scion principal technologist Graham West thinks the industry has a low national profile.

And that needs to change, he says, because of the vital role forestry could play in ensuring the country's economic and environmental health.

"Forestry has a very low profile in New Zealand - it's a very farmer-dominated country," Mr West told The Land.

"[But] we can't live entirely on the back of sheep and cows."

He predicted the next decade would be crucial for the industry, which is New Zealand's third largest export market, as trees planted nearly 30 years ago come to maturity in what Mr West described as a "wall of wood".

"In the early 90s there was a big increase in the export log process and a lot of forestry investment schemes," he said.

"The sharemarket wasn't doing well, so people were looking for alternative investment."

Mr West said the near-future results of this would be a "tsunami effect" that could see New Zealand's annual wood harvest increase by 33 per cent by 2025, with total production reaching 40m cu m per year.

The economy would benefit from this increased availability of wood - but after that, Mr West said, "we have to work out how to fill in that gap behind it".

He suggested it was now a prime moment to plant more forests to prepare for a future shortfall. Many Maori landowners were leading the way by taking a long-term view on forestry investments, "looking for the signals of what the overseas market drivers are for what we should be doing with our land".

In an area like Rotorua, such investment presented environmental as well as economic opportunities.

Recent debates over water quality in the region have questioned the environmental impacts of stock farming, such as nitrogen leaching. Mr West said in contrast, forestry was "sustainable, doesn't dirty the water, and sucks CO2".

"It's not only beneficial in terms of the environment footprint, it's actually positive for sequestering greenhouse gases."

Much of Mr West's work as principal technologist at the Crown research institute Scion is based around value chain optimisation, which aims to better forestry industry processes such as harvesting and safety to improve profit. But he also supported the industry's efforts in the search for the holy grail of environmental policy: clean alternatives to fossil fuels.

Pinus radiata in New Zealand makes up nearly 90 per cent of the country's forestry plantations, including the Kaingaroa Forest. Research initiatives, such as the Stump to Pump project at Kawerau, have examined the feasibility of producing biofuels from Pinus Radiata residue. Although results have been encouraging, costs and certification issues mean these alternative fuels are not yet commercially viable.

Mr West said a shift in attitude from the Government over environmental policy was needed to speed up industry progress and innovation. "A lot of the things you see in Europe in terms of sustainability, such as greenhouse capping, hasn't got traction in New Zealand yet. If [the Government] turns a little more green, the environment for investment in forestry will improve a great deal."