National's forest logging policy major threat to conservation lands

25 August 2005 - Christchurch

Contact: Eugenie Sage, Regional Field Officer, 03 366 6317(w), 03 942 1251(h), 021 418 502

National's native forest logging policy is a serious threat to conservation lands and their special plants and wildlife, including kiwi, said the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society.

"Allowing indigenous forest logging on conservation land would be an astonishing leap backwards. National's proposals would involve major changes to the Conservation Act 1987, under which conservation lands are places where New Zealand's distinctive indigenous plants and animals are protected from logging," Forest and Bird regional field officer, Eugenie Sage said.

"National should state what other changes it would make to conservation legislation to make it easier for miners, hydro scheme developers and others to trash conservation lands."

"National's policy continues a discredited tradition of uneconomic, high impact, extractive use with scant concern for logging's impacts on native plants and wildlife, including threatened species such as great spotted kiwi, kakariki and native bats, or the international importance of New Zealand's indigenous forests."

"South Westland contains the most extensive lowland native forests remaining in New Zealand. While protected as conservation land and part of the South-West World Heritage Area, many of South Westland's magnificent temperate rainforests are not part of a national park or reserve, and so could be open to logging under National's policy."

National's Forestry spokesman, Brian Connell, has said that a National-led government would negotiate a "substantial sustainable management regime" for Timberlands on the West Coast.

"This is a real concern as Timberlands claimed its previous beech logging scheme, which would have devastated 132,000 ha of West Coast beech and rimu forests, was "small scale and sustainable."

"Beech logging is not economic. The West Coast beech logging company, Forever Beech is only kept afloat by grants from the West Coast Development Trust. Forever Beech Ltd received $480,000 in the year ended 31 March 2005, and $3 million in December 2002."

Ms Sage said New Zealand could meet all of its timber needs from plantation species without having to log natural old growth forests important for conservation.

"The amount of timber Timberlands sought to produce annually by logging 100,000 ha of beech forests could be provided by 11,500 ha of plantation pine," she said.

Notes for media

1. Section 30(3) of the Conservation Act 1987 prohibits logging of conservation land, apart from special permission for customary use.

Section 30 provides:
"(2) The Director-General may authorise any person to take on or from a conservation area any plant intended to be used for traditional Maori purposes.

(3) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the Director-General shall not authorise any person to take any indigenous plant on or from a conservation area for the purpose, or with the intention, of deriving gain or reward, whether pecuniary or otherwise, from its wood.

(4) No conservation management strategy or conservation management plan shall allow or provide for the taking from the conservation area to which it relates of any indigenous plant for the purpose of deriving gain or reward, whether pecuniary or otherwise, for its wood, except-
(a) In accordance with a lease or licence granted before the commencement of this Act; or
(b) Pursuant to any authority under subsection (2) of this section."

2. The Annual Report of the West Coast Development Trust (2004/05) notes that "the West Coast economy continues to run hot." " In the 2004 calendar year, the number of full time equivalent jobs increased by 4.2 % and the number of business units operating throughout the region grew by 8.2%." (Source - www.wcdt.co.nz)