August 24, 2017
Maori landowners benefit from forest regeneration
East Coast Maori landowners are looking at the benefits of native forest regeneration as an alternative to covering their whenua with pines.
Development agency Hikurangi Enterprises, Victoria University and economic research institute Motu are helping them identify opportunities and barriers, with the help of a grant from the Ministry for Primary Industries' Sustainable Land Management and Climate Change Research Programme.
Hikurangi business development manager Manu Caddie says the Paris Climate Agreement has led to an increase in the price of carbon, creating options for landowners.
Manuka and kanuka honey and oil can also generate income to offset revenue lost when taking cows and sheep off land.
The study will look at the 1000 hectare Nuhiti Q sheep and cattle farm near Tokomaru Bay, which has sold carbon credits to Gull Energy to help fund its planting programme.
"For Maori landowners, the cash they can earn from those deals is secondary to the other benefits which could be jobs, which could be environmental and cultural aspects of a having that biodiversity brought back to the whenua. This research project is understanding the different factors that make those deals attractive or less attractive," Mr Caddie says.
He says concerns about worker safety in the forests, problems with pine pollen, and the failure of the industry to deliver promised jobs has turned many owners off production forestry.
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