New nationwide forestry rules
The Government is bringing in a single set of rules to manage plantation forests across New Zealand.
The National Environmental Standards for Plantation Forestry (NES-PF) will permit core forestry activities, provided their adverse environmental effects are controlled and mitigated.
Where the risks of harm to the environment are too high, or if a forest operator can’t meet the regulatory requirements for a permitted activity, the operator will need to apply for resource consent. The new rules will apply from May 2018.
Currently, the rules governing activities are managed by district and regional council plans.
Associate Minister for Primary Industries Louise Upston said having a single, nationwide approach, would reduce consenting costs in the forestry industry.
‘‘Forestry is New Zealand’s third-largest primary industry but its efficiency is hampered by the confusing mix of planning rules across New Zealand’s 86 councils,’’ she said.
‘‘Planning rules at local government level are subject to regular reviews and there could be as many as three sets of regional or district plan rules,’’ she said.
More than 300 forest owners have forests that cross more than two districts, according to MPI.
‘‘Some large forests also cross local government boundaries, resulting in different rules for the same forest,’’ Upston said.
‘‘Removing this uncertainty will encourage greater investment in a significant contributor to our economy, especially at regional level.’’
Forestry employs more than 26,000 people and exports total more than $5 billion per year.
The standards will cover eight plantation forestry activities: afforestation, pruning and thinning to waste, earthworks, river crossings, forestry quarrying, harvesting, mechanical land preparation, and replanting.
Minister for the Environment Dr Nick Smith said the approach will better protect the environment.
’’A major change with these new regulations is the development of three new tools for managing the environmental impacts from forestry, covering the issues of erosion, wilding pines and fish spawning,’’ he said.
‘‘The benefit of these tools is that the restrictions on forestry activities are related to the environmental risk, rather than which council area a forestry operation is in.’’