Executive Summary
The last two decades of the 20th century have seen major changes in the nature of the indigenous forestry industry in New Zealand. Government policy on the management of State forests for timber production, the passing of the Resource Management Act in 1991 and the Forests Amendment Act in 1993, have collectively changed the face of indigenous forest management. Not only has the emphasis of management moved strongly to forest sustainability (rather than simply yield sustainability) but the involvement of the Crown in indigenous timber production has progressively declined and timber production from Crown-owned land will cease by 2002. The indigenous timber industry, from 2002, will source all of its timber from private lands, most of that from forests managed on a sustainable basis in accordance with Part IIIA of the Forests Act 1949 (inserted by the Forests Amendment Act 1993 and subsequent amendments).
The beginning of the 21st century will mark the lowest level of indigenous timber production in New Zealand, with just 50 000 m3 of roundwood produced in 2000 (c.f. 1.6 million m3 in 1955, 1 million m3 in 1970 and 0.5 million m3 in 1980). However there are signs that there will be an upward trend in indigenous timber production from private land from 2002. While it is unlikely that production will increase in the medium term to the levels of the 1970's and 1980's, projections based on the average rate of approvals of Sustainable Forest Management Plans and Permits for the period 1996 to 2001 suggest indigenous roundwood production will be up to 186 000 m3 by the year 2010. Of this, up to 110 000 m3 will be sawlog quality timber. Though similar to the production levels of the 1990's, the rate of harvest will be low (2 m3 per ha per annum on average) and the mix of species will have changed dramatically, beech comprising at least 90 percent of sawn timber production and podocarps 10 percent or less, a complete reversal since 1997.
Attention has focused more recently on the "non-market" values of indigenous forests and at the same time there is a growing demand internationally for forest product labelling and certification of forests under management. Notwithstanding the dramatic changes brought about since the early 1990s, sustainable management of private indigenous forests has the potential to underpin a viable, long term industry. It is predicted that the contribution of the indigenous timber industry to the New Zealand economy will be $269 million in 2010, involving the sustainable management of about 178 000 hectares of indigenous forest. A direct benefit and equally important, will be the ability afforded forest owners to reinvest in long term forest maintenance, with equal consideration of natural, amenity and timber values.
Contact for Enquiries
MAF Information Services
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PO Box 2526
Wellington, NEW ZEALAND
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