Replanting on steep land being questionedFriday 27 Jul 2018 The NZ forestry industry has been told to rely on growing trees to capture carbon dioxide, rather than cutting them for timber, to earn money from forests on steep hillsides. But the industry says it's uneconomic, as profits will drop.The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has made the recommendation following controversy over the dangers of harvesting timber on steep slopes. Four people have been killed so far this year in forestry accidents, the latest in hill country near Nelson. WorkSafe said New Zealand needed to start thinking about leaving steep hillsides bare after harvesting, to avoid a new set of safety problems when the next crop was cut down in future. However, Forest Owners Association president Peter Weir said some East Coast forest schemes had a legal requirement to re-plant pine trees after harvest. Foresters could also incur a huge financial penalty under climate change legislation if they did not replant. "The landowner faces a hefty deforestation liability - typically 800 tonnes [of carbon dioxide] per hectare," Mr Weir said. "And at the prevailing price of $20 a tonne, that is $16,000 per hectare." Mr Weir wrote to MPI asking for an exemption to deforestation penalties when trees were not replanted on steep slopes. But in response, the ministry said it didn't think a blanket exemption was the solution. Instead, MPI recommended planting different species of trees and using carbon sequestration - a process involving capturing and storing carbon - for commercial benefit. This would mean forestry companies would profit from the tree growing and absorbing carbon dioxide, rather than from selling timber. However, the forestry industry said current prices were too low, so growing trees for carbon sequestration was completely uneconomic. In a radio interview this week Forest Owners Association President Peter Weir says landowners are worried that any decision not to replant trees in dangerous terrain will see them penalised for not meeting environmental regulations. The interview can be heard by clicking here Source: TVNZ  |
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