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From the President
It has not been a vintage year for farming and farm forestry dairying was probably the
exception. Yet only two months ago the expectations for the next year were quite
encouraging. What a difference now. Phrases such as credit crunch, banking crisis, recession
and even depression have replaced those expectations. Add in climate change and an
election and it is anyones guess as to what the next year holds for farming and farm
forestry.
Conference 2009Planning is well advanced for next years
conference in Gisborne. The conference committee have put together a varied and interesting
programme for us. The conference programme and registration form are included in this
magazine so please register now.
Emissions Trading SchemeThe flagship
of the government initiatives to address climate change is its Emissions Trading Scheme or
ETS. It was passed on 26 September with over 700 amendments. Of all those amendments,
the two most important for farm foresters relate to those who are pre-1990 forest owners.
There are now two deadlines in place. First, if you own less than fifty hectares and wish to
apply for an exemption to the ETS, then you have until the 30 June 2009. Secondly, all pre-
1990 forest owners have until 30 June 1990 to apply for a free allocation of NZ Units.
The ETS is very complex and Piers Maclaren in his unique style simplifies it in an article on
page 17. MAF also has extensive information available on its website. The message is that
unless you are a pre-1990 forest owner, there is no real urgency to do anything yet. I would
strongly advise anyone to wait and see how things develop. The NZFFA will take an active role
in promoting the ETS to members once more of the detail has been clarified.
Afforestation Grants Scheme (AGS)This is another initiative announced by the
government to address the effects of climate change. The AGS will provide funds for new
plantings of trees on land that was not in forest at 1 January 1990. The AGS is split into two
pools with half being allocated to Regional Councils for their sustainable land management
projects and the remainder to a public pool. In the latter, applicants tender for as much
funding as they wish with these tenders ranked according to the benefits of the planting and
the tender price.
The AGS is targeting areas that are erosion prone, areas where a
Regional Council requires forest cover, and areas where forest cover will improve water
quality and enhance bio-diversity. The minimum application for the AGS is five hectares and
it must be established at a minimum stocking of 800 stems per hectare. A wide range of
species can be planted including radiata pine, eucalypts, cypresses, redwoods and
indigenous species. Successful tender applicants sign an agreement which is valid for 10
years. Then you are free to enter the ETS, harvest or change land-use.
During the 10
years the government will accumulate any carbon credits and also accept and liability for
carbon losses due to fire, wind or other natural disasters. The results of the first tender
round were notified in August with the successful tender at approximately $1,800 per
hectare.
I would like to congratulate both the government and MAF for the AGS. I think
it is a very good scheme, although it might not suit everyone. If you have eligible land and
would like to plant some trees, I encourage you to consider applying for a grant.
Environmental certificationThe NZFFA, with funding from FIDA, has
commissioned a study on the benefits of environmental certification for its members and the
feasibility of a NZFFA Group Certification Scheme. Certification has been around now for
many years with most of the larger forest growers now certified with the Forest Stewardship
Council (FSC). This is in stark contrast to the small grower where virtually none are certified.
To date this has not been detrimental to the small grower but there is a distinct possibility
that it could be in the future. The demand for certified wood seems to be on the increase
and linked in with this are a chain of custody issues.
Currently all certified forests are
assessed against an International Standard as there is no agreed New Zealand national
standard. There was a very serious attempt to negotiate a national standard from 2000/03.
However there was no agreement and it has been on hold for the last five years. Last month,
representatives of NZFFA, NZFOA and environmental NGOs met again to see if a way could be
found to restart the negotiation on a national standard. This meeting went very well, there
was considerable goodwill around the table and all the participants were optimistic that
progress can be made. In my next report I would like to be able to report that we have made
some progress.
Patrick Milne,
President.
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