The forestry facilitator appointed to repair relations in New Zealand's Tairāwhiti region has delivered his first monthly report to the government, saying foresters now accept that some plantations are in the wrong place and must be removed.

Forestry Minister Todd McClay appointed Doug Leeder for six months to help reset the "fractured" relationship between foresters, iwi, Gisborne District Council and others, after the industry raised concerns about the council's approach to land-use change. The council's changes were aimed at protecting erosion-prone land and reducing woody debris; Leeder is to give the minister land-use transition recommendations by the end of March 2027.

One month into the role, Leeder said discussions had been positive. He was encouraged that the sector agreed some sites, particularly those planted after Cyclone Bola, were badly placed, and that the so-called purple zone, in whole or in part, needed to revert or be replanted with vegetation other than plantation forestry. "It's merely the process of getting there," he said.

That process includes rehabilitating skid sites built before 2018 and harvesting inappropriate plantations, which, as Cyclone Gabrielle showed, can end up "falling down the hills". With the cyclone season approaching, he said historic woody debris in stream headwaters should be cleared as a priority and that the work should not be held up by "strict adherence to conditions within legislation" when the risk is high.

Gisborne Mayor Rehette Stoltz said the goal was a region "healthy both financially and environmentally". Manu Caddie of Mana Taiao Tairāwhiti wants clear discharge limits and hopes Leeder will press the minister to revive a rejected land-use change plan that could have allowed up to 100,000 hectares to be converted to native forest or other uses.

Leeder's work runs alongside an independent review, ordered by the council, of its consenting practices and industry compliance. The report was written by Imogen Brophy for Local Democracy Reporting, co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air, and carried by Farmers Weekly NZ.

Photo: Mike Dickison / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Source: Farmers Weekly NZ