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7.8 Environmental Considerations for Harvesting
Authors: RD BlackPublication: NZIF Forestry Handbook, Volume Section 7 – Harvesting, pp 8, Dec 2023
Publisher: New Zealand Institute of Forestry
Abstract: Plantation forests in New Zealand have generally been established in specific areas where the land was not suitable for farming, owing either to erosion or lack of fertility. In such cases, forestry has proved to be a sustainable land use, with improvement of the environment over the growing cycle. The National Environmental Standards for Plantation Forestry May 2018 identifies how sustainable forestry is to be managed. The harvesting phase should not cause any long term negative change in the water and soil resource within the forest or off the site. How does one plan and manage for the sustainability of the environment? Reviewing the National Environmental Standards for Plantation Forestry ( NES-PF; MPI 2018), which was developed within the scope of the Resource Management Act, is a good first step in gaining and understanding of common requirements at time of harvest. The website www.environmentguide.org.nz/rma/ provides a nice overview of the purpose of the RMA and how it works, and the NES-PF user guide can readily be downloaded from the MPI website. It is also important to remember that rules specific to regions will be published in the Regional Council Plans, including Resource Consent requirements. The NZ Forest Owners Association have published an Environmental Code of Practice (NZFOA 2008) which is also a great reference for best practices.