forest talk
Farms or forests? The debate continues THE FOREST OWNERS ASSOCIATION (FOA) SAYS THE FEDERATED Farmers’ call for the government to restrict forest planting ranks as an unnecessary intrusion on the right of farmers to plant trees on their land if they want to. The FOA also says a restriction would make it more difficult for New Zealand to reach its vital climate change targets. The government has failed to live up to its promise during the election campaign to make landowners apply for a resource consent if they intend to plant more than 50 hectares of trees on land capability classes 1 – 5, says the FOA. President, Phil Taylor, says last year’s PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Report, commissioned by MPI, found that, on average, the value-add for forestry, per hectare, was many times higher than it was from the average hill country property. “Federated Farmers is telling its members that their national organisation is trying to stop them planting forests on whatever land they might want to,” he says. “It’s a commercial decision for landowners to plant trees based on their assessment of the productivity of that land. They should be backed, not blocked if they want to improve farm profitability and sustainability by planting trees,” he adds. “Forests are productive too. Yet Federated Farmers is demanding restrictions on all land classes.” He says Federated Farmers seems to be “confused” about the rules and rate of overseas investment in forest planting. “Firstly, they are complaining about carbon forestry. Then they say that the government needs to fix the special forestry test for direct overseas investment. “If they checked with the Overseas Investment Office, they would find out that the OIO is not allowed to, and doesn’t, approve any carbon forest planting. “Then if Federated Farmers checked on approvals for production forest planting, they would find that the rate for the 18 months to the end of last year was only 500 hectares a month. And since then, the approval rate has fallen.” Mr Taylor adds that the Climate Change Commission calculates there
is a need for another 380,000 hectares of plantation forests within 15 years for New Zealand to reach its greenhouse gas reduction targets. This represents about 4% of the existing sheep and beef estate. Lobby group, 50 Shades of Green, disagrees, saying the prediction that regional New Zealand will be covered in exotic pine “is coming to fruition before our very eyes”. The wholesale removal of productive land for exotic forestry continues at pace as sales of farmland to forestry move into new parts of the country, says a spokesperson. “Coming to a region near you is now a reality as both Wisp and Hazeldean stations in Otago add to recent hill country farms sold,” he adds. “The many thousands of tourists who visit the Caitlins do so to enjoy the diverse landscape, iconic tussock land and native bush reserves. They don’t visit it to drive through a sea of exotic pine. “While it might be a short-term sugar hit for carbon, these policies bring more problems with them than what they solve. By focusing solely on carbon we are losing the bigger picture, the one that is destroying regional communities, economies and environments. “Policy has not been changed and regional New Zealand pays the price for emitters’ behaviour. There is no mechanism to stop the sales, and the Government sits idly by. It certainly isn’t ‘right tree, right place’ and the ETS clearly isn’t fit for purpose. “We remind the Government; New Zealand survives largely off its agricultural receipts. Taking land out of production now for trees means it earns nothing for at least 28 years and as the Parliamentary Commission has pointed out, planting pinus radiata will not help get our carbon footprint to zero by 2050. “What we have now is the next carbon farm bought is the next farm up for sale. We urge the Government to hit the pause button and put a mechanism in place to stop the carnage increasingly happening across the country “The question the Government needs to ask is, is this policy driving the outcomes that are in New Zealand’s best interest? We say no, and it’s not just farmers, we are now joined by environmental groups, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, and the Climate Change Commission. It is of substantial concern to growing numbers of New Zealanders who see the snowball gathering speed.” NZL
Seedlings are soaring SEEDLING SALES HIT ALMOST 92 MILLION SEEDLINGS IN 2020, three million more than the year before, says Acting Deputy DirectorGeneral Te Uru Rākau – New Zealand Forest Service, Henry Weston. The findings come from an annual survey of tree stock sales from commercial forestry nurseries – the Provisional Estimates of Tree Stock Sales and Forest Planting. “The increase in seedling sales is positive, as it shows continued strong interest in tree planting,” says Mr Weston. “Tree planting is a vital tool in efforts to boost environmental gains, and help New Zealand to reach its economic potential, particularly our recovery from COVID-19.” Tree stock sales reported in 2020 totalled 91.9 million seedlings, compared to 88.8 million sold in 2019. The main increase was in radiata pine where sales rose by 4.4 million seedlings. Estimates suggest the increase in 2020 could see seedling sales reach 100 million seedlings in 2021.
The research also shows the majority of planting in New Zealand was on class 6,7 and 8 land, which isn’t considered productive farmland. “It’s important to consider planting the right tree in the right place, as they can be used to stabilise land, stop erosion and create additional income for farmers or foresters through things like the Emissions Trading Scheme,” says Mr Weston. NZL
June 2021 | NZ LOGGER 5
