As environmental and erosion impacts from their rapid expansion become more clear, New Zealand’s export-oriented plantation forests are coming under growing pressure. The Gisborne district really is something special. It has the highest share of commercial tree plantations on acreage that is extremely erodible. New analysis finds that 55% of the district’s commercial forests are located on red-rated land. This land is under an extremely high threat of soil erosion. This troubling state of affairs begs an obvious question. How does the proposed change to existing enforcement rule maintaining primary responsibility for slash and sediment discharges work?
The government’s 2023 revisions to slash-management rules stemmed from the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle, which highlighted the vulnerabilities of these forests. These proposed amendments specifically address the critically-important concern of discharges from clear-fell harvesting practices. Experts are alarmed because they argue these changes will not actually address the root causes of these environmental injustices. The truth is that clear-felled forests on erosion-prone landscapes are literally one mistake away from catastrophic failure, especially in times of extreme weather.
Erosion Susceptibility and Forestry Land
New Zealand’s plantation forest land uses a four-color scale to determine the level of vulnerability the land has to erosion. The scale goes from green, representing the lowest susceptibility level, all the way to red, representing very high susceptibility. The Gisborne district is in a dire predicament. Most alarmingly, 55% of its commercial forests are listed as red, indicating acute issues with the management of commercial forests in the country. To combat concerns about extensive plantation cultivation, New Zealand has limited 7% of plantation forests to red land. This goes to show the distinct challenges that the Gisborne district has to endure.
What’s more, a further 17% of plantation forests are red flags, or orange, meaning they are highly susceptible to erosion. The pairing of red land and orange land creates significant concern. It imperils our public lands and waters, communities nearby, and the wildlife ecosystems that rely on them. These forests grow on the steep hill country of New Zealand. All this added terrain raises the potential for erosion and runoff.
Environmental Impacts of Slash and Sediment
The clear-fell harvesting practices employed by commercial forestry companies contribute to two major environmental issues: slash and sediment discharges. Slash is the term used for the woody debris remaining after a timber harvest, which can block waterways and cause sedimentation. Forestry operations are the number one source of sediment that suffocates our rivers, destroys our land and coastal ecosystems. This discharge has significant impacts on water quality and aquatic habitats.
Over the past 15 years, the New Zealand government has penalized a number of these offending companies. They’ve obtained 15 criminal convictions for willful violations including slash and sediment discharges. In 2018, logging companies were held accountable in the Gisborne district. Specifically, they breached the RMA, which has been New Zealand’s primary environmental law since 1991. These companies managed to get approval from the relatively small Gisborne District Council. So they carried on with plans to construct logging roads and clear-fell enormous tracts – often hundreds, sometimes thousands, of hectares. Under these consents, the resulting environmental degradation has led to widespread alarm over a lack of regulatory supervision and adherence.
Proposed Changes and Future Challenges
In light of persistent environmental issues, our national government has started to readdress how we regulate the industry by proposing federal reforms to strengthen forestry regulations. These changes are mostly aimed at better management practices for slash and sediment discharges. Environmental advocates say the solutions in the proposal wouldn’t do enough to tackle the root causes of these discharges.
The increased need for supplementary RMA consent to undertake earthworks and harvesting activities. This is especially true for red-ranked communities. This step is the only place you can exert some control on the activities occurring in high-risk areas. It doesn’t address the real dangers related to clear-felling in these high-risk areas.
As experts have emphasized, clear-felled forests located on erosive land are still “one bad rainstorm away from disaster.” The ability of increasingly intense severe weather events to lead to widespread and damaging erosion and water quality degrading runoff is a continuing concern among environmental advocates. That’s why innovative management strategies are more important than ever. Whether the threat comes from climate change or unsustainable forestry practices, we need to emphasize the importance of ecological integrity.