26 October 2012
Changes to water quality regulations to reduce pollution from run-off could be the "death knell" of large-scale commercial forestry in Otago, says Philip Taylor, spokesperson for the Otago Forestry Group. Speaking at a regional water plan hearing in Dunedin yesterday, Mr Taylor who is also managing director of Blakely Pacific, said "This is a real risk - not an emotive and non-defendable statement."The Otago Forestry Group is made up of five forestry companies operating in Otago, representing 60% of the region's plantation forestry or 73,558 ha.
The Otago Regional Council is trying to impose controls on discharges from intensive farming operations. In doing so it risks imposing an "unreasonable and unsustainable burden" on more sustainable land uses including forestry.
On behalf of the group, Kelvin Hunter, Rayonier national environmental officer, said even with good management practices, it was inevitable by the very nature of forestry utilising large machinery and handling large trees on steep terrain that there was going to be some sediment generated.
As forestry was cyclical, there were periods of intense activity around harvesting and then very little for the next 25 to 45 years.
His company had first-hand experience of "literal interpretations" of such rules with some "nasty outcomes".
When asked by Mr Hunter if the group's concerns about their activities becoming prohibited were real, hearing panel chair Duncan Butcher said no.
However, the group suggested alternative rules and policies. These would allow forestry to be a permitted activity so long as the industry's good practice codes and guidelines were adopted.
Consultant senior planner Nick Boyes said the rules suggested by the forestry group were certainly "better" than the proposed plan rules and would be an efficient and effective way to manage discharges from forestry activity.
Cr Butcher said as the approach of the plan change was not to identify particular land uses, the panel would need to seek legal advice on whether it could consider the group's proposals.
Niwa scientist Dr John Quinn said production forestry generally resulted in good water quality, although that was compromised to some extent during the two-year harvesting period.
He recommended 5 metre buffer zones along smaller streams to deal with the short-term negative impacts around harvesting.
"My analysis suggest that the potential for unintended discouragement of forestry as a land use activity in Otago would be avoided by adopting the Horizons One Plan approach ... requiring adherence to a code of practice as the primary tool and monitoring against water quality targets."
Landcare Research senior scientist Dr Christopher Phillips said compared with the rest of New Zealand, the eastern Otago region, where forestry was situated, was not particularly susceptible to erosion.
"The elevated risk of erosion during the post-harvest phase is more than off-set by the beneficial effects of the forest in reducing erosion during the majority of a forest rotation."
The hearing continues today.
Source: Story by Rebecca Fox Otago Daily Times. To read the full story, click here.