Source: Radio New Zealand
A cross-sector group concerned about the impact of forestry in Tai Rāwhiti is urging the government to stump up $359 million.
The transition advisory group, known as TAG, was established in response to a ministerial inquiry, which labelled the problem an “environmental disaster”, and is tasked with transitioning 100,000 hectares of land back into permanent bush to stabilise its most vulnerable slopes.
Members include forestry owners, Māori landowners, farmers and experts from Gisborne District Council and Ministry for Primary Industries.
- Over 20 percent of Tai Rāwhiti is covered in pine trees, many were planted after Cyclone Bola in 1988 to help with erosion control as the region has the most slip-prone land in New Zealand.
- The region’s steep hill country loses 55 million tonnes of topsoil every year and post-storm clean-ups (Cyclone Gabrielle and subsequent events) have exceeded $110 million in debris and sediment removal alone.
- It’s estimated that without intervention, cumulative storm-related damages over the next 30 years could exceed $1 billion.
- It was so bad in 2023 after Cyclone Gabrielle and Hale that a ministerial inquiry into land use was launched, it found lives were put at risk, and said the time to fix this “environmental disaster” is running out. It recommended planting the worst areas back into native bush.
- In response, a TAG was set up and has identified up to 100,000 hectares of forestry and pastoral land that needs to be taken out of production and planted in permanent bush.
The cost of transitioning this land was initially estimated to need $200m of government funding, however the figure has grown to nearly double that.
“We’re looking at $359m of Crown co-investment over the next 10 years and this is backed by our own regional, private, and also philanthropic funding that is already flowing into the region,” Gisborne District Council chief executive Nedine Thatcher Swann said.
“What our business case shows, though, is that for every $1 spent, we actually save $4 on the recovery. This programme is about avoiding more than $1 billion in future storm damage and recovery costs.
“It is about ensuring that we’re putting investment into preventative work rather than being the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, literally picking up large woody debris when the next event happens.
“It’s not an if, it’s a when,” she said.
The business case sets out a 30-year plan to stabilise around 100,000 hectares of erosion-prone land. It includes a $20.5m early-start package to begin work in the most at risk-areas and proposes a $359m Crown investment over ten years, as well as regional and private contributions estimated at more than $240m.
The group has sent the proposal to the prime minister and minister for Primary Industries.
“We have had conversations with them, and we understand that we’re in an incredibly tight economic times,” Thatcher Swann said.
However, she said the plan will save money in the long run.
Slash in a Tologa Bay river bed after Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023. RNZ / Alexa Cook
The group is urging the government to seriously consider the implications of what will happen if Tai Rāwhiti’s current land use doesn’t change.
“Our region agrees that we do need to transition some of the most vulnerable land to permanent cover and we’re ready to go. The plan’s in place, our partnerships are strong, the momentum is real and we just need the Crown to come and back us.”
A spokesperson for Forestry Minister Todd McClay said that the case study has been received and will be evaluated as part of ongoing work in relation to sustainable land use.
“Unfortunately the group’s expectation of taxpayer support seems unrealistic, however no decisions have been made at this stage,” they said.
Government no ‘white knight’ for landowners
Dan Jex-Blake farms in the Waingake Valley about 50 kilometres away from Gisborne and is part of the TAG. He’s experienced the impacts of forestry slash on his land and is keen to see the problems with land use addressed.
“We need to change the way our land is used in this region because the material damage caused to those downstream, certainly from forestry, is huge,” he said.
But he’s realistic when it comes to government funding.
“As a landowner I’m not thinking the government is going to be a white knight and come along and pay for everything,” he said.
However, the farmer told RNZ what will help is commercial opportunities to incentivise the changes.
“That could put up an economically rationale and logical case for landowners to go ‘that piece of land is not sustainable for long term farming or trees and there are options to get other income from it’.
“If we don’t do something it’s an indictment on us as a generation … the goal is aspirational but we need to get on and get going with it,” he said.
Dan Jex-Blake’s farm is up the Waingake Valley near Gisborne. Supplied
Farm consultant and chief executive of Tairawhiti Whenua Charitable Trust, Hilton Collier, is also in the TAG.
“There’s certainly a lot of ambition and a lot of hope for better outcomes.
“It’s been a challenging journey and there’ve been some very difficult discussions at times given the tensions between farming and forestry,” he said.
Collier said ultimately everyone agrees a better relationship with Tai Rāwhiti’s land is needed to reduce and mitigate excessive sedimentation and woody debris entering waterways.
But he warns that land use transition will take time, and people must be patient.
“We won’t get an instant fix and everyone needs to understand we are not going to have a solution tomorrow. It’s probably going to take 20 to 50 years, or longer, before we have the issue addressed properly.”
‘We have concerns’: Eastland Wood Council
Eastland Wood Council chairperson Julian Kohn, who also a TAG member, said Gisborne forest owners recognise that land-use transition is needed, particularly around vulnerable land that’s been identified.
“But we have concerns. The business case understates the potential risks to our region’s economy and we believe landowners need to be considered more – this transition includes land owned by iwi as well as mum and dad investors around our country.
“We also think poplars, willows, redwoods and other timber should be included in the replanting along with natives for the permanent vegetation,” he said.
Outside of the land use change, Kohn said there is still a place for sustainable forestry in Tai Rāwhiti.
“The forestry industry wants to be part of the answer to keeping soil on the hills, protecting waterways, and supporting our region’s economy.
“This region recently had a sawmill reopen which created 110 jobs. Our port, heavily reliant on forestry, is also undergoing a multi‑million‑dollar upgrade for its Twin Berth Project,” Kohn said.
He’s confident there is capacity in the region to support the forestry industry, and said Eastland Wood Council wants to be part of the future of Tai Rāwhiti.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
