New Zealand needs to take a long, hard look at its approach to forestry and ask whether we are establishing the forests we want in the long run, says the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment in his new report, ‘Alt-F Reset: Examining the drivers of forestry in New Zealand’.

In the report, the Commissioner, Simon Upton, points out that the future shape of our forests will reflect today’s policies, just as past policies created the forests we see in New Zealand today.

“We may live to regret our current approach as it is driving a wave of land use change with significant environmental, economic and social risks,” he warns.

The Commissioner clarifies that his concern is not with forests planted for timber production.

“In places where they can be safely harvested, production forests are the backbone of an important industry. Because the people who plant them intend to harvest them, they have every incentive to look after them.

“But new permanent forests being planted as carbon offsets through the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) carry long-term risks for future generations.”

These carbon forests, mostly made up of radiata pine, are effectively locking up huge areas of New Zealand’s landscapes forever. Yet the Crown could face implicit carbon liabilities if those forests are damaged by pests, disease, fire or extreme weather events in the future.

“As an alternative to pine, many New Zealanders are calling for larger scale native afforestation. That is easier said than done. Successfully establishing native forests is much more expensive and takes a great deal more effort.”

Any hopes that the current approach, including the NZ ETS, could incentivise establishing other types of forests – including native forests at scale – are misplaced, the Commissioner says. “The reality is that under current regulatory and economic settings, almost nothing can compete with radiata pine for short-term returns.”

Deficiencies in our knowledge are also holding back alternatives, including natives.

“We know much less about all aspects of alternative forestry, from seed germination and establishment techniques to the economics of alternative management regimes and the properties of alternative timbers. This lack of information makes anything other than pine a potentially high-risk and expensive undertaking.”

The Commissioner emphasises that despite the risks, improving opportunities for alternative species and management regimes is worth exploring.

“As well as building resilience into the forestry estate, some alternative species have beneficial traits that make them better suited for specific areas, such as landscapes with erodible soils. These species could also offer new economic opportunities, such as access to high value timber markets.

“Different management approaches can also allow for low-intensity timber production while providing long-term environmental values, like biodiversity, carbon and erosion control,” the Commissioner explains.

Alt-F Reset sets out 15 recommendations to address the risks that New Zealand’s current approach to forestry runs. These include phasing out forestry from the NZ ETS and improving the knowledge base that is needed to underpin greater use of native and alternative exotic species, as well as different management approaches.

The Commissioner is specifically advising that any reform of the NZ ETS must involve Māori, as any proposed changes have the potential to unduly affect Māori landowners.

“The forestry system we have today was started through government intervention and investment, and if we want something different then similar intervention will be needed.”

Read the report here.

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