Consider all the trees, shrubs and vegetation that exist in the town or city that you live in. In every public park and private garden, along streets, beside waterways, down utility corridors, in shopping malls, on roof gardens, and throughout commercial estates. This is an urban forest.

“The urban forest canopy is the umbrella to protect and enhance the future of our built environment,” says Mark Roberts, spokesperson for the New Zealand Arboricultural Association (NZARB).

“Yet most of us can’t see the urban forest for the trees. Urban trees play a critical role in creating a healthier, safer, and more connected community.”

Mr Roberts will be facilitating a parliamentary panel discussion about the importance of urban trees at NZARB’s Annual Conference, in association with Asplundh in Wellington on Thursday morning (3 November).

“Our panel discussion falls before the upcoming release of the Natural and Built Environments Act (NBA). This is one of three laws that will replace the Resource Management Act (RMA),” Roberts says.

The NBA aims to promote the protection and enhancement of the natural and built environment, while providing for housing and preparing for the effects of climate change.

“Almost two-thirds of all submissions on the NBA were on trees in the urban environment noting that in Aotearoa about 80 percent of us live in an urban forest, but not many of us realise it.

“When the RMA came out, it was held up as the most progressive single piece of environmental legislation in the world. Our clean and green image was built off the back of it; we want to find out if Aotearoa will once again lead or lag in this area.

“Urban forests function as green infrastructure, they moderate humidity, reduce wind, define areas, reduce, and filter runoff, remove surface water, stabilise the ground, reduce noise - the list is long.

“Urban trees connect communities, cultures, and generations. They are a living link to the past. Trees provide habitat for birds and other fauna. They bring bird song and nature to town.

“Having access to trees improves hospital recovery times and outcomes. Those living among urban trees have been shown to have reduced stress levels, improved overall health and show greater cognitive development in children.

“And then there is carbon sequestration - a tree doesn’t need to be on the West Coast to remove and store carbon, it can do it just as well while growing in a city,” Roberts says.

Many international cities have a higher canopy cover than most of Aotearoa’s cities. Tamaki Makaurau (Auckland) has a tree canopy cover of about 18 percent with just over 1,200 inhabitants per km2. Singapore has 30 percent with about 8,300 inhabitants per km2. Sydney has set a minimum 40 percent target by 2036 and Melbourne 40 percent by 2040.

“Aotearoa’s canopy cover is actively getting smaller. We need to protect, plan, and provide for future generations, so this parliamentary panel session will help us gauge what our politicians are thinking and what plans they will enact,” Roberts adds.

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