Right Forest: Right Place

It is time for the forest industry to have a conversation with itself about putting the right forest in the right place in the brave new world where ex-tropical cyclones are the new normal, says Dr Sean Weaver, CEO of environmental forestry company Ekos.

“The damage to Tairāwhiti property and infrastructure from Cyclone Hale is a sign of things to come if clear cut plantation forestry continues to be undertaken on erosion-prone landscapes,” Weaver said.

“We need to stop doing clear cutting on erodible lands and transition to continuous cover forestry and permanent forests in vulnerable parts of the country” Weaver said.

“If the costs to clean up the mess and compensate people for property and infrastructure damage from forestry sediment trespass were factored into forestry investment models, clear cut forestry would be far less profitable in such places and probably would not happen,” he said.

“We have many steep, erosion-prone lands that are not suitable for pastoralism or clear cut forestry. In such places we need to design land use practices to match land use capability,” he said.

Weaver promotes continuous cover forestry for erodible lands and says that this is a common practice in many other countries and is also undertaken on a small scale in New Zealand. Continuous cover forestry involves a range of practices from single tree extraction, to patch or strip felling, through to not harvesting timber at all.

“About 30% of all forestry in Europe is continuous cover forestry. Our climate scientists keep reminding us that ex-tropical cyclones are going to be the new normal and we need to get our landscapes ready to cope with this. Continuous cover forestry is an important part of the solution to climate resilience,” he said.

“We now have a carbon market that can enable the trading of a combination of wood and carbon credits from forest management. This dramatically improves the economics of continuous cover forestry and can help finance the transition to end clear felling in these vulnerable landscapes. We are already doing this in our own business in partnership with other forestry companies we are working with, and we are keen to support the rest of the forest industry to do the same.”

“The time for looking at the floor and shuffling our feet when asked the hard questions after a cyclone are over. We in the forest industry need to show the country that we can be part of the solution to climate change adaptation and resilience, and this starts with ending clear felling on lands unsuitable for clear felling.” He said.

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