May 16, 2023
Iwi keen for forest monitoring role
Wairoa post-government settlement entity Tātau Tātau o Wairoa wants help to monitor forestry companies.
Chair Leon Symes says he agrees with the report of the ministerial inquiry into woody debris which highlighted a lack of monitoring for compliance with environmental standards.
He says iwi and hapu are keen to be involved, but they don’t have the resources within their organisations to respond to resource consent applications to plant or harvest.
“We’re calling for some resource on our side to make sure that when these forestry companies want to plant, we can be engaged in the process from day dot to day this is going to be a purple zone, this is going to be a red zone, this is going to be an orange zone so we know from the outset where the impacts are going to be,” Mr Symes says.
He says harvesting needs to be done in a sustainable way that does not affect the environment.