7th November 2022 Newsletter
PRESIDENTS COLUMN
Two weeks ago I was suppose to speak at the TTT and Pure Advantage conference in Wellington. Sadly I could not make it in person; however councillor and future forester Jack Palmer presented my session for me. Thank you very much Jack. The speech is below, however in summary my main message was we needed to stop attacking each other and figure out a way to make native afforestation at a large scale and in difficult country work. I have taken issue with some of the statements coming from Pure Advantage people around pines. Suggesting pines are a scrounge is cutting off your nose in spite your face. A tree, any tree, is better than none when it come to fighting climate change.
Whilst we would all like to plant more native; we simply can’t find a way to do it economically at scale yet; and even if we plant, protecting the new plantings from NZ’s introduced pests is extremely difficult in steep back country.
Professional foresters (you the members) must be at the forefront of figuring this out. Too many of us are burying our heads in the sand and saying its someone else’s problem. I challenge you; are you not the professionals in all matters forestry, or are you limited to one species only? Would you expect an accountant to solve a medical problem or an ambulance office to solve an animal welfare problem. I am guessing not, so therefore as the professionals we must solve the native afforestation problem.
Some of you may be asking why; and this is a good question. My personal belief has always been large areas of NZ should be in native forest as this is the best use from a sustainable, biodiversity, clean water, erosion point of view. I also believe our native timbers are beautiful and we should be able to find an economic return from harvest of some natives in some areas.
However added to this, the news out last week there is no obvious pathway which will keep the climate below 1.5 degrees of warming should embarrass us all, especially in the West. For decades we have talked around the issue and done little. Frankly we are destroying our children’s and grandchildren’s future and we need to stop talking and start taking action. Planting natives will help remove carbon; yes more slowly then radiata, but for a longer time, could bring future economic returns to NZ, will protect eroding land and waterways, will increase biodiversity, and in mind will improve the view of many landscapes.
So I challenge you the professional forester; what should we do to make this happen? What do you want NZIF to do? What can you do as an individual? How do we spread the word?
I look forward to seeing your response in the next newsletter.
Thanks
James
Our place in the landscape
“Our world is in big trouble. Let’s have no illusions. We are in rough seas. A winter of global discontent is on the horizon, a cost-of-living crisis is raging, trust is crumbling, inequalities are exploding and our planet is burning. We have a duty to act and yet we are gridlocked in colossal global dysfunction. The international community is not ready or willing to tackle the big dramatic challenges of our age.”
Not my words but the words of the Secretary-General's spoken recently at General Assembly of the United Nations last month. However I could not agree more.
There can be no doubt the world is in big trouble. We are facing financial crisis, health crisis, war and a climate crisis and at times it seems easier to bury our heads in the sand and hope it all goes away. But it wont.
For well over a decade professional foresters in New Zealand have been calling for action, we have struggled to be heard and often have been ignored by our politicians and our media. Only recently as we start to see the effects of floods, winds and drought are these same people turning to us and asking what can we do?
Some of you may be asking what is a professional forester any way. For me forestry is the science and art of land and forest management. Its goal is to optimise the use of forest areas for commercial, industrial and recreational purposes while conserving the natural resources and protecting the environment for the future. In other words, a forester is an expert in land and forest management who walks a careful balance between planning the usage of forest lands and protecting them. A forester’s primary goal is sustainability.
The New Zealand Institute of Forestry represents the individual forestry professional. We have been in existence for 95 years and as such have a wealth of knowledge and a history of observation on forests. We advocate for all forests and have for many years been arguing for an effective, simple, sustainable forest policy. A policy which recognises the place of all trees, be they plantation, on farm planting, urban forests or native forests.
The topic for this section is “our place in the landscape”. To me the importance of forests can not be underestimated. We depend on forests for our survival, from the air we breathe to the wood we use. Besides providing habitats for animals and livelihoods for humans, forests also offer watershed protection, prevent soil erosion and mitigate climate change. Yet, despite our dependence on forests, most people do not give them a second thought.
As we here all know, before people arrived 80% of New Zealand was covered in forest. Now only 24% of the land is native forest with another [ ] in plantation. This is a loss of 15 [need to remove plantation area] million hectares of forest. Our reminding forests continue to be threatened, from introduced pests and weeds, making the establishment of new forests difficult and the degradation of our remaining native forests. Planting a tree is easy, getting it to maturity is extremely difficult. I am aware of areas of the country where in two days 1100 deer and a similar number of goats were shot over a 500 hectare block.
For too long we have considered deforestation a non- NZ problem, yet I feel it is not. The lack of pest management due to poor policy and lack of finance is resulting in many of our native forests being degraded and in poor health. Indeed I am waiting for the international community to suggest our carbon modelling is incorrect as our native forests are actually reducing in their ability to fix carbon and are going backwards. If this expectation becomes a reality then the costs to New Zealand of letting this happen will be immense. ‘Sadly it is much easier to create a desert than a forest’.
To grow our forested area, especially our native forest area we must managed our exotic pests. I do not believe trapping, shooting or fences will be enough to allow us to grow our forest estate to the levels required by the Climate Change Commission. Indeed; and I know it is controversial, I believe we will need genetic editing to manage our pests. Making pests and weeds sterile (including radiata pine) would be of great benefit to New Zealand, and would give us a fighting chance of ensuring forests can take their rightful place in the landscape and provide the benefits we require from them.
So as a professional forester what do I believe our place in the landscape is. Frankly I would love to see a [two] fold increase in our forested area. There are vast tracts of New Zealand which should be under forest, not only to protect the soil and water, but also to provide the people of New Zealand with a place to play, a place to work, timber for shelter, revenue from export, and to reduce some of the effect of climate change. However I am here to tell you I do not believe this is possible without major changes in our policies, in our attitudes to forests and in our desire to ‘back our corner’.
For too long discussion on land use has been based on a ‘my way or the highway’ argument. Native forest vs exotic, farming vs forestry, production vs conservation. We all need to come out of our corners and agree how we can work together. We must stop looking at a title of land and say it all must be forest, grazing, grapes, kiwifruit, sheep or dairy; but rather look at the title and say this area should be in native forest, this area in production forest, this area sheep and beef and this area grapes. This means each title owner will need multiple professional advisors for each of the areas.
We need to stop the native vs exotic debate. Both are required, each offering their own advantages and disadvantages. Rather than sensationalise the negative we need to accentuate the positive. Exotics offer quicker carbon capture (and we must all agree we need to take immediate action urgently), provides timber, jobs, recreation opportunities. Natives can protect waterways, clothe eroding landscapes, and provide health benefits as well as scouring carbon over a longer lifetime (as long as we can managed the pests). Let’s stop arguing with each other and start supporting each other, because frankly we need more trees and we need good forest ecosystems. As AA Milne said “You can’t stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you, you have to go to them sometimes”. Life is not a competition. It’s a gigantic collaboration, and the world will welcomes and reward people who see it this way.
I attended last week a presentation on a 100m tower built entirely of wood. This was wonderful to see and hear about. The embedded carbon within the structure; along with the carbon saved by not using concrete or steel was mind boggling. However, here in New Zealand very senior people use their influence to call for a cease to planting of exotics. What is their plan; to use our natives for timber. Why would they wish for buildings to be built out of concrete and steel rather than wood. These calls to stop planting new exotic forests are a distraction and a major threat to our ability to meet our climate targets. And who is make of these calls; yes some I. The farming community are, but the loudest calls are coming from people who feel the only good forest is a native forest. Some are no doubt in this room. As a professional forester I implore you to open your eyes to the bigger picture. NZ need more forests or all types. Our exotics have; and continue to, allow us to protect our natives from harvest. Our exotics will help us meet our short term commitments while our natives our long. We need to be building 100m towers of wood here in NZ (we do have a housing crisis after all). We need to use our exotic timber to fix carbon in these buildings for a long period of time. We need our exotics to provide biomass to replace coal used for heat by many of our large processors and we need our natives to protect highly erodible soils, to protect waterways and to provide recreation pursuits for our population. It should not and must not be a one or other. We need all forests and they must be professionally managed.
We need to ensure government has a clear forest policy. As discussed NZIF has presented government with a policy which to date is [unrecognised]. A strong policy is required as forests are long lived, are multi-functional, and many of the benefits occur not to the owner but to society. Any policy must cover all forest types and have goals which span generations.
So I come back to the beginning. The world is in big trouble. We need forests and we need more forests. New Zealand has no clear policy how to make this happen, we have sectors and entities backed into their corner and we have a media which show little interest in us. We need to change this and we need to change it now. As a professional forester I am dismayed at the apathy shown by our leaders, be they politicians, sector leaders, media, forest leaders. We need to collaborate and we need clear goals. We must understand the hinderance to attaining these goals and find ways to overcome them. We must expand our forest estate not for us, but for our children and grandchildren. I for one do not want to be unable to answer my grandchild when they asked what were you doing while the climate changed!
Finally I would like to quote from the Lorax “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not”
Thank you.
INSTITUTE UPDATE
From the Registrar
Any member of the NZIF has the right to object to an application. Any objection should be lodged with the Registrar registrar@nzif.org.nz within 20 working days of the first appearance (7 November 2022) of the notice in this newsletter, specifying the grounds for the objection.
APPLICATION FOR REGISTERED MEMBER STATUS
The following Member has applied to be a Registered Member:
- Cameron Eyre of New Plymouth
SUCCESSFUL APPLICATION FOR REGISTERED MEMBER STATUS
The following Members are now Registered Members:
- Gottfried Kenda of Invercargill
SUCCESSFUL 5 YEAR REGISTRATION REVIEW
- Vern Harris of Blenheim
- David Evison of Christchurch
- Mike Duckett of Rotorua
- Mark Morice of Napier
- Damian Byrne of Rotorua
REGISTRATION REVIEWS 2022
The following member is due for 5-year review of their status as a Registered Member during 2022 and has not yet submitted their application;
- Kevin Reardon
You are responsible for ensuring that your review is completed by
31 December 2022.
Any member of the NZIF has the right to object to an application. Any objection should be lodged with the Registrar registrar@nzif.org.nz within 20 working days of the first appearance (7 November 2022) of the notice in this newsletter, specifying the grounds for the objection.
Alan Bell, Registrar
NZIF Registration Board
registrar@nzif.org.nz
+64 27 444 7779
7 November 2022
REGISTERED MEMBERSHIP
Want to become a Registered Member?
MEMBERS VOICE
Have your say. Email Raewyn at admin@nzif.org.nz
FORESTRY EVENTS
The NZIF CNI Local Section invites members to an evening of celebration and networking
The NZIF Forester of the Year Award recognises an NZIF member who demonstrates leadership, excellence, and personal integrity in the field of forestry. The award is presented annually to recognise a member who has made an outstanding contribution to the sector. The CNI Local Section, along with NZIF President James Treadwell, wishes to celebrate the achievements of the 2022 Forester of the year awardee Don Hammond who’s work over the last year has been fundamental in ensuring log export markets have remained open to forest owners in Aotearoa.
Date: Thursday 17th November 2022
Time: 5:30-7:30pm
Location: Toi Ohomai Forestry Building, Rotorua
Drinks and nibbles will be provided.
To register: Register here
The NZIF CNI Local Section invites members to attend our next speaker evening.
Scion Economist Dr Richard Yao will be presenting “From assessing forests’ broader benefits to informing policy and investment decisions”
Richard T. Yao, PhD – richard.yao@scionresearch.com
Dr Richard Yao completed a PhD in Environmental Economics and an MSc in Agricultural Economics. He has worked at Scion for fourteen years as a research economist on the assessment of ecosystem services (e.g. timber, food, carbon, recreation, improved water quality, water regulation and biodiversity) and natural resource management. Richard has applied his key areas of expertise – econometrics, forestry economics, environmental economics and efficiency analysis – to New Zealand environmental and natural resource management. This research area includes valuing and accounting for both market (provisioning) and non-market values (regulating, cultural) values in policy and investment decision making. Richard has published in international journals and participated in key discussions on how to account for ecosystem services values in policy and decision making. Richard is a recognised expert in the assessment of ecosystem services and he currently leads long term research programmes and projects that involve the assessment of ecosystem services provided by planted and native forests as well as freshwater, marine and pasture ecosystems.
Networking from: 5.30pm with the presentation starting at 6pm.
Location: Toi Ohomai Forestry Building, Rotorua
Date: Thursday 24th November 2022
Drinks and nibbles provided
To Register: Register here
