Well, yeah.
And limits should be introduced around how much of a forest can be felled in a single year. Again, even those of us without any experience in forestry would say, well, yeah, that makes common sense.
The Government, of course, commissioned the inquiry into land use and forestry slash after Cyclone Gabriel, concentrating on the Wairoa and Tairāwhiti Gisborne regions. As you'll remember —and those shocking, shocking photos showed— severe slips and erosion during the cyclone resulted in the woody debris and silt washing onto land and down waterways into those regions, causing significant damage.
But it wasn't the first rodeo for many of the people who own farms and land in the areas around the forest. They have been battered, quite literally, by slash for years and have been asking for something to be done about forestry in those areas for years. There is nothing new in this.
A second pre budget announcement yesterday as well saw 10.5 million earmarked for the clean-up of forestry slash and other woody debris in Tairāwhiti and Hawkes Bay. There's 70,000 tons of the stuff and rivers and catchment areas on the East Coast. Forestry Minister Peeni Henare says the clean-up effort needs to start straight away.
Well, really it needed to start three months ago. Hello Red Cross, anybody there? Anybody? That would have made a small dint in getting it cleaned up, but no? Nobody? Still going to hold on to that money?
So I would love to hear from people of the region, those involved in forestry as well, because so many areas around the country have been planted out in pine and as we can see, there is the possibility that where it's planted in the wrong place, it's going to cause huge problems.
Interestingly, this was supposed to be the solution to a problem. Because when Cyclone Bola swept through Gisborne causing so much damage, or swept through New Zealand but impacted the Tairāwhiti Gisborne area greatly. The erosion there caused huge amounts of problems where the land had been clear felled of Native forest for farming. And so the answer to that was, hey, let's put Pine Forest in there and that'll hold the hills together, and that'll keep the soil together and it will also provide employment for so many people in the area who would otherwise have to leave to look for work.
So this was supposed to be a solution to an obvious problem. It's turned out to be a bigger problem than ever.
Where does it leave the future of forestry in this country? Is there still a place for it?
Kerre McIvor, is a journalist, radio presenter, author and columnist. Currently hosts the Kerre Woodham mornings show on Newstalk ZB
But it wasn't the first rodeo for many of the people who own farms and land in the areas around the forest. They have been battered, quite literally, by slash for years and have been asking for something to be done about forestry in those areas for years. There is nothing new in this.
A second pre budget announcement yesterday as well saw 10.5 million earmarked for the clean-up of forestry slash and other woody debris in Tairāwhiti and Hawkes Bay. There's 70,000 tons of the stuff and rivers and catchment areas on the East Coast. Forestry Minister Peeni Henare says the clean-up effort needs to start straight away.
Well, really it needed to start three months ago. Hello Red Cross, anybody there? Anybody? That would have made a small dint in getting it cleaned up, but no? Nobody? Still going to hold on to that money?
So I would love to hear from people of the region, those involved in forestry as well, because so many areas around the country have been planted out in pine and as we can see, there is the possibility that where it's planted in the wrong place, it's going to cause huge problems.
Interestingly, this was supposed to be the solution to a problem. Because when Cyclone Bola swept through Gisborne causing so much damage, or swept through New Zealand but impacted the Tairāwhiti Gisborne area greatly. The erosion there caused huge amounts of problems where the land had been clear felled of Native forest for farming. And so the answer to that was, hey, let's put Pine Forest in there and that'll hold the hills together, and that'll keep the soil together and it will also provide employment for so many people in the area who would otherwise have to leave to look for work.
So this was supposed to be a solution to an obvious problem. It's turned out to be a bigger problem than ever.
Where does it leave the future of forestry in this country? Is there still a place for it?
Kerre McIvor, is a journalist, radio presenter, author and columnist. Currently hosts the Kerre Woodham mornings show on Newstalk ZB
6 comments:
With the greatest respect Kere, read my own column and you will discover why what you have recently read is not at all what it might seem
Is there still a place for forestry in New Zealand. Absolutely! In terms of our forestry, and our timber use, this country is entirely unique. Nearly all our wood requirements are sourced from home-grown plantation forestry. That is, buildings, fence posts, horticulture supports, retaining walls etc., etc. Add to that pulp and paper. But there’s more. Our wood exports represent our third biggest merchandise export income. This helps pay for our affluent lifestyle. And what species enables us to achieve this remarkable state? Radiata pine, which represents over 90% of our wood production. So why has ‘pine’ become a dirty word? Beats me. Yes, of course mistakes have been made, especially in the laxity of harvesting of steep lands, much of which was planted in good faith after Bola smashed that land when I was in pasture. And no, there is no place for the conversion of farmland into pines merely for carbon credits.
So, in commercial terms radiata is the mother of all species. But the time has come to widen our forestry horizons and look at a greater role of other species, and to integrate them into farming systems, as the siltation that has resulted from Gabrielle has come from pasture lands.
We, of course, have always had natural erosion, hence our plains lands, but the removal of the native bush through Maori fires originally, but especially in the conversion to pasture, has accelerated it to a level that we much seriously address. We need more trees, not less.
The forestry industry has done an analysis of the dead wood and calculated that about 60% of it is native, willow, poplar etc. With only 40% being pine and likely to be forestry in origin
Anonymous
Not sure which part of the East Coast that analysis was made but it is consistent with the one l am privy to here at the epicentre of the most damaged areas, inland from Tolaga Bay.
And even more informative is the part of those observations by knowledgeable foresters that suggests a good proportion of the trash that ended up on the flats or beaches was the remnants of whole unharvested trees that had been part of retired planted hillsides that collapsed under its own weight.
In order to successfully restructure the forestry estate in a form capable of surviving the next cyclone, we need to take these findings into account when designing the new modus operandi that is fit for purpose and not one that spends huge amounts of scarce cash resources on defences that will be ineffective as part of our defences.
Apart from wildings the clear felling is a major problem. I often drive back roads and have been horrified by the extent of very disturbed bare earth and branches and logs strewn about. It was obvious to the most unimaginative that in a good downpour most would move. But there are other things to do and other Letters to Editor. Besides being contrary to big bus. unlikely to be printed. Maori who choose to stya in the ountry are faced with a devastated environment or loss of employment and the chance to pull an income from maori land without significant effort, thus in accord with tikanga.
Just maybe consider the excellent efforts of South Island foresters who root rake and compress slash into long lines with the slope of the land not against it. ( which prevents it from being washed down hill.) Hardly rocket science if you are a competent forest contractor. The alternative is being required to pay for the future mess you made.
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