Logging bad for Maitai, says group
River ecology group Friends of the Maitai says radiata pine forestry is its ‘‘number one concern’’ regarding river health.
Steven Gray spoke to the Nelson City Council’s environment committee to update councillors on the forestry and maitai forum established last year and emphasise the group’s concerns about forestry activity in the river catchment.
He said about 42 per cent of the Maitai catchment was being used for plantation forestry, much of it originally planted in the 1980s, and a major part of the problem was the large-scale clear-cutting during harvest.
‘‘The major problem with radiata pine is that most of it’s exported as low-value logs,’’ Gray said.
‘‘Forestry companies tell us they need to clear-cut large areas of plantations because it’s the only economically viable harvesting method. Unfortunately, large clear-cut areas increase the risks of erosion, landslides and sedimentation of waterways, even on rolling or moderately steep terrain, and even in moderate rainfall events.
‘‘In effect, clear-cutting radiata is only economic because the associated environmental and social impacts are externalised costs. These costs are ignored, and most often the environmental cleanup is paid by ratepayers and taxpayers.’’
Gray said the clear-cutting of large swathes of land was a significant problem when it came to river sedimentation, and something many countries regulated against.
‘‘For example, in Japan, where Sumitomo lives, which is the corporation that owns Tasman Pine, you can’t cut more than 20 hectares at a time.’’
In New Zealand, forestry companies can clear-cut hundreds of hectares at once.
‘‘What we recommended last year was smaller clear-cut areas, alternate species on longer rotations, so you don’t have everything on the same rotation and everything harvested at the same time,’’ Gray said.
He congratulated the council on various steps it had taken to improve river health, including retiring 20 per cent of its own forestry land from radiata pine, but said it was ‘‘clear that the forestry companies feel they are doing all they can and should do to protect the river. Friends of the Maitai doesn’t share that view’’.