14th February 2022 Newsletter
PRESIDENTS COLUMN
Last week council met for the second to last time for this term. A number of important decisions were made which I highlight below. Most importantly though I must remind all members the date is closing for nominations to be received for Council and Officers (President, VP, Treasurer, Secretary). Thank you to those who have sent in their nominations already, but for those still considering, please get your nomination form into Raewyn by 5pm Monday 28th Feb. If any members is considering getting nominated but is unsure what is involved, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Once again the meeting was held virtually due to the Covid red light setting. The draft budget was considered and some minor changes sent back to Treasurer. Once finalised the budget will be made available for all members to view. As usual the budget is formed with the goal of ensuring fees and profit from conference covers the day to day running of the Institute and projects are covered by retained earnings from prior years. At this stage council does not intend to increase fees, noting the implementation of the governments Forest Advisors Scheme is likely to increase registration costs to members post August 2022.
Council approved the appointment of John Schrider to work alongside MPI on behalf of members on the formation of the Advisors Scheme. There is much work to be undertaken between now and August. Council is of the belief, regardless if NZIF becomes the delegated authority or not, the formation of the scheme; who it covers, what the process and procedures are for achieving and maintain registration, CPD requirements, code of conduct hearings, etc is of great importance to members and as the professional body of NZ Forestry we must be involved in the formation of this for our members future. Peter Casey and I will be helping John where we can, fitting the time around our paying roles. Keeping members informed on the formation of the scheme, and seeking feedback during the process will be extremely important. As such Peter Hill will also be involved in all meetings with MPI with the responsibility of keeping members informed. Council has approved funding of up to $100,000 (coming from retained earnings) to cover the costs of the above. This will be reviewed again at the end of May.
Council also approved the appointment of Tim Payn to the Chair of the NZIF Foundation. I would like to thank Andrew McEwen for the enormous amount of work he has put into the Foundation since is was formed in 2011. Andrew has been Chair for all of this period and grown the Foundation to where it is today. Tim and the new Trustees will continue on from the good work of Andrew and past Trustees and hopefully we can grow the donation base to offer more and larger awards and scholarships. I have put my hand up to help drive donations and it would be fantastic to see all members supporting the Foundation in any small way they can. Remember the Foundation is a charity so you get to claim your donation back! Donating is easy, just hit the big button at the top of the NZIF webpage.
Council also approved the appointment of Kirsten Stuart to be co-opted on to the Registration Board. I would like to thank Kirsten for agreeing to be co-opted. We are co-opting individuals onto the Board as part of our wish to build across a wider range of members (and in particular mid-career members) and improve understanding and insight to the full registration process. Additionally we recognise we will have increased demand on the Registration Boards time over this year.
It was pleasing to see our Registered members grow by 5 since Oct 2021. I encourage all members to considering applying for registration status. Not only is it an acknowledgement of your professionalism, but it will give you a head start when the Forest Advisors Scheme starts in August this year. It is likely the vast majority of current members will need to be registered under the Forest Advisors Scheme, and if you wait until August, it is extremely likely the time it takes to get through the registration process will be longer than normal as demand exceeds the ability of the scheme to get people through.
I was happy to see most local sections held at least one meeting in 2021 and some five. I would like to challenge each local section chair to run a minimum of 4 meetings this year. Council and the administration team will hep you do this. Local sections are key to the networking objective of NZIF and while I understand it has been difficult over the last two years due to Covid, it would be fantastic to see regular local sections meetings happening all over NZ.
As always, if you have any questions or thoughts on the running of NZIF, the Forest Advisors Scheme or any other concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me, Raewyn or place your thoughts in this newsletter so we can encourage debate.
2022 is going to be a busy year for the Institute, I would love for all members to ask themselves what they could do to help.
Thanks
James
MEMBERS VOICE
Have your say
We foresters need to be more active countering the toxic, anti-forestry rhetoric spewing from the laptop of pseudo-academic Anne Salmond.
See her latest writings below.
Owen Springford
In this context, the idea of planting vast swathes of relatively short-lived, shallow-rooting, industrial monocultures of highly flammable exotic conifers to address climate change is asking for trouble.
In a warming planet, the risks of fire, pest attack and wind throw in such plantations are increasing sharply. As the trees die, their carbon is released.
If the trees are planted on highly erodible landscapes and then harvested, the risks of erosion, sediment and slash in streams, rivers, estuaries and harbours, damage to the roading network and the harm to forest workers have to be weighed in the balance.
In Tairāwhiti, for instance, one of the most highly erodible landscapes in the world, under the ETS land owners are paid 10 times more by year five for planting pine trees than for restoring native forests. Almost every river in the region has been ruined, with impacts that are obvious in disasters like Tolaga Bay; the roading network has been wrecked, and many forest workers are killed or injured in the forests.
When raw logs are exported to distant markets to be processed into short-lived products, more carbon may be emitted in the process than was sequestered while the trees were growing. Too few of these logs are being processed for domestic uses at present. Again, the strategy doesn’t add up.
Worse, as the price of carbon rises, investors are paying very high prices for land to plant pine trees for carbon farming. Since it is cheaper not to trim and harvest the trees, no timber is produced, and there are very few jobs.
‘Lock up and leave’ plantations are full of pests and weeds, and the trees are relatively short-lived. As they die, more carbon is released. As other land uses such as sheep and beef farming are displaced, more jobs are lost and rural communities die.
Socially, culturally, ecologically and economically, carbon farming with pine trees looks like a monumental folly.
Offsetting only makes sense if there are genuine benefits to New Zealand and the planet. The ETS is short-term, high risk, and riddled with perverse incentives.
As for buying international carbon credits, paying billions to people in other countries to offset the carbon we emit in New Zealand is a fool’s game. Cabinet needs to urgently rethink our carbon strategy.
It would be much smarter to invest those dollars in New Zealand – in plantations on stable land yielding timber and other products for local profit and uses; in permanent native forests in eroding slopes and gullies and around waterways to prevent erosion while restoring biodiversity and streams and rivers; and in nature-based indigenous forests that together with regenerative agriculture, produce high value, unique timbers and high skilled, well paid jobs in the regions.
This is the only kind of off-setting strategy that’s worth having – one that restores thriving landscapes and communities at home while helping to save the planet.
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